An Air France Airbus A330-200 passenger jet with 231 people on board went missing after dropping off the radar over the Atlantic after taking off from Brazil. -- PHOTO: AFP
KUALA LUMPUR - SEVERAL airlines using Airbus A330-200 planes, the model that crashed in the Atlantic last week, said on Monday they would wait for any directive from manufacturer Airbus before making any equipment changes.
The chief executive of Gulf Air, Mr Bjorn Naf, told Reuters he was seeking a meeting with Airbus during an annual meeting of airlines body Iata in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to get an update on the latest findings on the crash and its causes.
SOME Air France pilots aren't waiting for a definitive answer.
With investigators looking at the possibility that external speed monitors iced over and gave dangerously false readings to cockpit computers in a thunderstorm, a union is urging pilots to refuse to fly Airbus A330 and A340 planes unless the monitors - known as Pitot tubes - are replaced.
'If there's an official recommendation, of course we will (act), we do not compromise on safety,' Mr Naf said in an interview.
Airbus had detected faulty speed readings on its A330 jets ahead of last week's crash of an Air France airliner, and had advised clients to replace a part, investigators said on Saturday. Airbus said the advice was a product enhancement and not a mandatory safety directive.
'If Airbus puts out a directive we will respond,' said Mr Akbar al-Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways, which has 16 A330-200s.
Mr Giovanni Bisignani, director-general and chief executive of Iata, said in a speech to airline leaders in Kuala Lumpur: 'Last week's tragedy over the South Atlantic reminded us all that safety is a constant challenge.'
Several airline executives at the Iata meeting stressed that the Airbus A330-200 was a safe aircraft and they had no reason to investigate the speed sensors on their own planes at this stage.
'This problem was raised in the media; we don't know if this is the problem,' said Mr Fernando Pinto, chief executive of TAP-Air Portugal, which has 12 of the planes. He added that the airline 'would be following all the reports from Airbus.' Airbus sales chief John Leahy told a small group of reporters in Kuala Lumpur that its A330-200 aircraft was safe and was essential for the airline industry.
'It's the backbone of the industry,' he said.
Investigators are considering the possibility that the speed sensors may have iced up, but say it is too early to single this out or pinpoint any possible cause with the meager clues available so far. -- REUTERS
