Plane phobics do not read!
Yes, I haven't posted in ages. In my defense, I'm still fighting with my tendonitis and it makes posting quite complicated (except for the times when I throw caution to the wind and remove my brace, like now, but don't tell my kinesiologist).
As some of you know, I'm scared of planes. I fly anyway, but only when I have no choice, and with lots of sedatives to help me bear with take-off, landing and turbulence and any weird noise.
Usually, I turn off the TV when commercials are on, but recently, Air France released a beautiful commercial:
It's completely musical (based on one of Mozart's most beautiful concertos), no word spoken, so you can go ahead and watch it if you want.
Add that to the fact that they have a brilliant slogan ("Making the sky the most beautiful place on Earth"), and it actually almost made me feel safe thinking of planes.
However, the other day I watched a (very serious) documentary on TV about Air France and security problems. As it turns out, Air France has had three major plane crashes in the space of ten years :
- First, the Concord, which crashed on 25 July 2000 because a tire of the plane exploded after being damaged on the tarmac (113 killed).
- Then, on 2 August 2005, the Toronto flight, which crash-landed because a big storm made the co-pilot mess up his landing, and it took them 12 seconds to fire the retro-engines to stop the plane (no-one died, but everyone says it's a miracle - and trust me, being in Canada then, I saw what was little left of the plane, which was completely destroyed by a fire that broke out as soon as the plane crashed into the ravine next to the 401 - it really is a miracle).
- And finally, on 1 June 2009, the Rio-Paris flight (228 killed) that disappeared into the Atlantic ocean after suffering an aerodynamic stall, apparently caused both by defective speed sensors and piloting errors (the investigation is still ongoing).
That I already knew. The trouble is, that documentary also revealed that, for example, it was a well known Concord issue that the tires could explode. In fact, Air France had long replaced tired on all the other kinds of plane. I also learned that the 2009 crash almost happened again six months after the actual accident. The only difference is that the pilots reacted properly, but there was a lot of panic in the cabin, including from the crew. Add to that the fact that the speed sensors had been reported defective for months, on many planes : there are written reports attesting to that. The company making those sensors even recommended they get changed asap, because their break-down could cause serious incidents that might endanger the plane's safety. Add to that the fact that the main pilot of the Rio flight apparently left the cockpit to sleep even though they were going through an area that was well known from all pilots for dreadful weather conditions. As it happens, the co-pilot made the wrong decision when the stall alarm rang, and the plane fell into the ocean.
And you know what else? On 21 July 2011, another Air France plane landed rather roughly in Caracas and damaged its undercarriage. The damage was apparently visible to any mechanic, but the Air France mechanics still gave the go ahead for the plane to take off with another load of passengers. Within 20 minutes, the plane turned around and tried to land (the passengers later learned that all hospitals had been forewarned in case the landing got bad).
And the past ten years are populated with such incidents, stuff that isn't always reported in the news, but still happens. Air France pilots were confessing (anonymously of course) that the main trouble with the company is that its pilots have always lived with the idea that they have the best training in the world, that they work for the biggest airline in the world, that they're the best, and that "they could teach birds how to fly". The consequence is that they start believing nothing can happen to them or their plane. The other problem is that Air France is a company that has a no-layoffs policy, so that if a mechanic ever realises they've forgotten something, they will immediately warn their superior without fear of getting fired. That's good. However, that also means that when pilots get repeatedly told that they're not supposed to fly fast at low altitude, they keep on doing in anyway, because they won't even get suspended.
The list goes on and on. Bottom line is, I used to say that Air France was the only company I trusted, but now I'm not sure that's true any more. The documentary just completes what the recent investigations on Air France crashes started to reveal. The company has changed its communication policy so that they're more open about security now. But it might take time for people to trust them again.
All I know is that next time I fly to Toronto, I might choose to fly Air Canada or Air Transat, and not Air France. Oh, and that, as beautiful as that commercial is, Air France would be better off putting its energy into passenger safety rather than creativity to sell more tickets.
On a lighter note, is it really pathetic that when I first watched Simple Plan's music video of their song Jet Lag, I Immediately recognised Toronto Pearson airport? *grins*
As some of you know, I'm scared of planes. I fly anyway, but only when I have no choice, and with lots of sedatives to help me bear with take-off, landing and turbulence and any weird noise.
Usually, I turn off the TV when commercials are on, but recently, Air France released a beautiful commercial:
Click to viewIt's completely musical (based on one of Mozart's most beautiful concertos), no word spoken, so you can go ahead and watch it if you want.
Add that to the fact that they have a brilliant slogan ("Making the sky the most beautiful place on Earth"), and it actually almost made me feel safe thinking of planes.
However, the other day I watched a (very serious) documentary on TV about Air France and security problems. As it turns out, Air France has had three major plane crashes in the space of ten years :
- First, the Concord, which crashed on 25 July 2000 because a tire of the plane exploded after being damaged on the tarmac (113 killed).
- Then, on 2 August 2005, the Toronto flight, which crash-landed because a big storm made the co-pilot mess up his landing, and it took them 12 seconds to fire the retro-engines to stop the plane (no-one died, but everyone says it's a miracle - and trust me, being in Canada then, I saw what was little left of the plane, which was completely destroyed by a fire that broke out as soon as the plane crashed into the ravine next to the 401 - it really is a miracle).
- And finally, on 1 June 2009, the Rio-Paris flight (228 killed) that disappeared into the Atlantic ocean after suffering an aerodynamic stall, apparently caused both by defective speed sensors and piloting errors (the investigation is still ongoing).
That I already knew. The trouble is, that documentary also revealed that, for example, it was a well known Concord issue that the tires could explode. In fact, Air France had long replaced tired on all the other kinds of plane. I also learned that the 2009 crash almost happened again six months after the actual accident. The only difference is that the pilots reacted properly, but there was a lot of panic in the cabin, including from the crew. Add to that the fact that the speed sensors had been reported defective for months, on many planes : there are written reports attesting to that. The company making those sensors even recommended they get changed asap, because their break-down could cause serious incidents that might endanger the plane's safety. Add to that the fact that the main pilot of the Rio flight apparently left the cockpit to sleep even though they were going through an area that was well known from all pilots for dreadful weather conditions. As it happens, the co-pilot made the wrong decision when the stall alarm rang, and the plane fell into the ocean.
And you know what else? On 21 July 2011, another Air France plane landed rather roughly in Caracas and damaged its undercarriage. The damage was apparently visible to any mechanic, but the Air France mechanics still gave the go ahead for the plane to take off with another load of passengers. Within 20 minutes, the plane turned around and tried to land (the passengers later learned that all hospitals had been forewarned in case the landing got bad).
And the past ten years are populated with such incidents, stuff that isn't always reported in the news, but still happens. Air France pilots were confessing (anonymously of course) that the main trouble with the company is that its pilots have always lived with the idea that they have the best training in the world, that they work for the biggest airline in the world, that they're the best, and that "they could teach birds how to fly". The consequence is that they start believing nothing can happen to them or their plane. The other problem is that Air France is a company that has a no-layoffs policy, so that if a mechanic ever realises they've forgotten something, they will immediately warn their superior without fear of getting fired. That's good. However, that also means that when pilots get repeatedly told that they're not supposed to fly fast at low altitude, they keep on doing in anyway, because they won't even get suspended.
The list goes on and on. Bottom line is, I used to say that Air France was the only company I trusted, but now I'm not sure that's true any more. The documentary just completes what the recent investigations on Air France crashes started to reveal. The company has changed its communication policy so that they're more open about security now. But it might take time for people to trust them again.
All I know is that next time I fly to Toronto, I might choose to fly Air Canada or Air Transat, and not Air France. Oh, and that, as beautiful as that commercial is, Air France would be better off putting its energy into passenger safety rather than creativity to sell more tickets.
On a lighter note, is it really pathetic that when I first watched Simple Plan's music video of their song Jet Lag, I Immediately recognised Toronto Pearson airport? *grins*