Air France 447 may have crashed due to computer error

Experts are now suggesting that, while there is no definitive proof as of yet, the most probable cause of Air France Flight 447‘s downfall could have been massive system-wide computer failure.

Modern aircraft systems are now mostly run on automatic computer commands,with minimal human intervention. Newer generation pilots are trained from this at the get-go, so unlike pilots from past decades, they may be more hesitant to actually swim into the controls should an aircraft’s computer systems malfunction, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Analysis of the accident suggests that the plane may have flown into a thunderstorm, which threw the metrics of the plane’s computers off. Evidence points to the idea that pilots tried to regain control of the plane as the plane was breaking apart due to great speed.

This can be attributed to two similar cases involving Airbus A330 jets, the jet model of Flight 447. US investigators have disclosed last Thursday that a Northwest Airlines A330 flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo just this week reported computer malfunctions right after flying through a small storm. The flight suffered air-speed function failure, which resulted in severe system malfunction. Fortunately, the pilots managed to land the plane safely.