Pilots' Experience
First Officer: Joël Cherubin
- 37 years old
- 3615 total flight hours
- 61 flight hours in A320
Captain: Christian Hecquet
- 42 years old
- 8806 total flight hours
- 162 flight hours in A320
Approach into SXB
Aircraft involved
in accident
- Pilots planned for ILS for RWY 23 followed by a visual for RWY 5
- Delay on RWY 23 due to departing traffic
- ATC offers to vector them back to ANDLO intersection at 5000 feet and shoot VOR/DME approach for RWY 5
- ATC gives early inbound turn for RWY 5
- ATC attempts to notify pilots of his error
- Once cleared for the approach, pilots proceed on course and begin descent at ANDLO intersection
Approach into SXB
- Once cleared for the approach, pilots proceed on course and begin descent at ANDLO intersection
- Pilot then enters a descent rate of 3300 feet per minute
- Descent rate should have been 3.3 degrees in the FPA mode but was in V/S mode in feet/minute
Recovery
- 3 hours after initial crash one surviving passenger goes searching for help
- The passenger encounters a T.V. crew looking for the crash
- The T.V. crew was hesitant that he was an actual passenger of the flight
- He eventually persuades them and leads them to the crash site
Crash Overview
Flight Data Recovery
- After throrough 676 day investigation, the BEA concluded that the causes of the crash were:
Flight Deck Ergonomics
Crew's Lack of Situational Awareness
ATC Errors
Insufficient Pilot Training
Lack of GPWS
Low Experience Pilot Pairing
- Airbus changes it's autopilot's interface to show 4 digit vertical speed setting instead of 2
- Also increased durability of the F.D.R. and E.L.T. worldwide
- French BEA issues 34 safety recommendations
- Air Inter changed company policies regarding GPWS and pilot training
- F.D.R. was destroyed from the fire during crash
- Quick Access Recorder was able to be salvaged, but 20 cm of the recording were burned
- Garnett Technique had to be used to read damaged Q.A.R.
Date: Monday January 20th 1992
Time: 19:20
Departure airport: Lyon Satolas Airport (LYS)
Destination airport: Strasbourg-Entzheim
Airport (SXB)
Type: Airbus A320-111
Operator: Air Inter
Crew: Occupants: 6 / Fatalities: 5
Passengers: Occupants: 90 / Fatalities: 82
Location: 12.2 miles SW of SXB
Phase: Approach
Cause: Many Factors (explained later)
ATIS (Weather): Winds 040 at 30 knots and layers of scattered to broken clouds at 1,100 and 2,600 feet
Crash
- While incorrectly descending at 3300 feet/min, the aircraft struck a 2710 foot ridge of Mont La Bloss
- The crash killed 87 of the 96 people on board
- The severe impact caused the ELT to not transmit
- After the crash the plane caught fire destroying the flight data recorder
- Known for mainly carrying business people
- Airline cares about being on time, whatever it takes
- Infamous for having aircraft fly 350 knots at less than 10,000 feet
- High speed trains in France are their main competitors
- Often known for removing GPWS from commercial aircraft due to "nuisance warnings"
Air Inter Flight 148
Crash Investigation
Presented By: Mike Walk, Patrick Stone, Sloan Parker