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Airbus recommends speed sensor switch

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-31 05:56

PARIS: Airbus said on Thursday it was urging airlines to switch a majority of speed sensors on about 200 long-haul jets to parts made by US supplier Goodrich in the wake of the Air France jet disaster.

The move affects Airbus A330 or A340 planes fitted with alternative sensors manufactured by France's Thales, like the Air France A330 which crashed on June 1 in the Atlantic.

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The European plane maker issued a bulletin to airlines late on Thursday urging them to make the switch on at least two out of three sensors, known as pitot probes, on each aircraft.

"We issued an AIT (Accident Information Telex) a few minutes ago recommending that A330 and A340 operators fit at least two probes supplied by Goodrich," spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said.

No deadline for the change has yet been set.

Confirmation of the switch came after Reuters reported that European safety authorities were drawing up proposals to order the change in the wake of the Air France crash. Apparently faulty speed sensor readings may have contributed to the crash that killed 228 people but were unlikely to be the sole cause, which remains to be identified, investigators say. About 200 of the 1,000 A330s and sister A340s in operation globally are fitted with Thales sensors, Schaffrath said.