Word: aircrafting
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Iranian leaders took turns denouncing the misdeeds of the "arch-Satan" America. President Seyed Ali Khamene'i called the downing of the aircraft "one of the biggest crimes of the war," while Ayatullah Hussein Ali Montazeri, designated successor to Spiritual Leader Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, advocated sabotage "on American financial, political and military targets everywhere." Khomeini urged his people to "go to the war fronts and fight against America and its lackeys." Both Khamene'i and Khomeini, however, seemed just as intent on redoubling efforts against Iraq as denouncing America...
...pilot reportedly told investigators that the airplane's instruments showed that the plane was at 100 ft. just before it went over the runway. According to a rescue worker, moments after Asseline emerged from the wreckage, dazed but unharmed, he said, "I wanted to boost the power, but the aircraft did not respond...
...computers of advanced aircraft like the A320 are also programmed to prevent pilot error by limiting the plane's response to dangerous commands. But some pilots believe such safeguards could be a handicap in emergency situations that require sudden maneuvers, like those necessary to avoid a collision. Says John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association: "A computer can only react to the possibilities that have been programmed into it." Some experts speculate that because the Airbus jet's wheels were down as it swooped over the air show, the computers might have been tricked into thinking...
...aircraft builders are moving in the same direction as Airbus, but more cautiously. The new Boeing 757 and 767 models have computer-controlled engines, though the wing and tail surfaces are still linked to the cockpit by hydraulics. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11, the replacement for the DC-10, will be fully computerized, but the wing and tail surfaces will have a mechanical backup system so that "whatever the airplane is capable of, the pilot can get full response," a spokesman says. Nonetheless, mechanical linkages will no doubt be obsolete someday. Boeing is even studying the feasibility of controls that...
...consortium has spent nearly $2 billion over the past four years to develop the high-tech plane. Although Airbus has succeeded in selling its earlier models, the A300 and the A310, to 58 airlines, the consortium's continuing losses have been aggravated by the weak dollar. The aircraft manufacturer prices its planes in U.S. currency but must pay most of its expenses in relatively stronger European currencies. The consortium last year boasted a 23% share of all worldwide aircraft orders, placing it behind Boeing's 50% but just ahead of McDonnell Douglas' 22.5%. This year, however, Airbus has slipped...