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Air France is equipping all its flights using long-haul Airbus jets with new speed sensors after last week's disaster over the Atlantic, it was announced today.
The sensors, known as pitot tubes, have become the focus of an investigation into the crash after messages showed they provided "inconsistent" data to the pilots and might have played a role in the 1 June crash.
Pilots were urged by their union to stop flying the Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft until the old sensors were replaced. Air France made no comment.
It came as search crews discovered the vertical stabilizer from flight 447, which disappeared with 228 on board. A total of 24 bodies have been found.
Reader views (2)
Barns and closing of barn doors comes to mind.
- Phil Jones, London UK
Why did it take a tragedy of this magnitude before Air France were finally persuaded to change these sensors? Had they been changed earlier, as Airbus recommended, then the passengers and crew of AF 447 might still be alive today.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands