Second Near-Disaster Reignites Air France 447 Debate

Bethany Whitfield

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 06:57 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

An Air France Airbus A340 recently experienced an incident during severe turbulence, involving rapid acceleration, autopilot disengagement, and a sudden climb, drawing comparisons to the fatal Air France Flight 447 crash.
Unlike AF447, the A340 crew successfully corrected the aircraft after initial nose-up inputs and continued the flight safely to its destination.
French safety investigators (BEA) are investigating the A340 incident, particularly focusing on the crew's response and its potential similarities to the AF447 pilots' actions.
Investigators caution against direct parallels to AF447 due to a lack of speed indication malfunctions in the recent incident, but the event reignites debate on AF447's causes, including pilot actions and system design.

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A second wild ride of an Air France Airbus has gained the attention of safety investigators. French media reports emerged last week about an Air France flight that recently experienced some events similar to those of Flight 447 shortly before it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, reigniting debate over what caused the fatal crash that killed 228 people more than two years ago.

The new incident took place in July on an Air France flight en route from Paris to Caracas, Venezuela, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro, which said it obtained a report of the incident.