Preventing Another Flight 447 Crash

The Daily Beast’s Clive Irving has written an open letter to FAA President Randy Babbit, challenging him to address international safety concerns over the pitot tubes (speed-measuring instruments) that experts believe caused the June crash of Air France Flight 447, which killed 278 people. ”Who will step up to the plate and take a leading role in looking at the safety of thousands of people around the world, including many Americans, who are flying on A330s and A340s at this moment?” Irving writes. The tubes are used on Airbus A330s and 3340s around the world and Airbus said that an A330 takes flight once a minute. Airbus planes have experienced safety issues with the North Carolina-manufactured pitots since 2002 and the tubes have caused malfunctions during flights in Asia and Brazil.