Airbus Sends Warning on Speed Sensors

The maker of the Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic issued a warning to pilots on how to respond when speed sensors malfunction, buttressing a belief that faulty readings played a role in the disaster, Reuters reports. An Airbus memo also says the company is replacing all such sensors in its jets, the AP notes. Worsening weather, meanwhile, raised fears that neither bodies nor the black boxes will be found.

Airbus said the message “in no way implicates” pilots or aircraft design. It has, however, fueled an existing debate over whether Airbus designs are too complicated. “This is a plane that is conceived by engineers for engineers and not always for pilots,” said a longtime Boeing pilot. As the search continued, French and Brazilian officials disagreed over whether debris found in the Atlantic is actually from the crash.
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