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    Airbus Safety First

    safetyfirst.airbus.com · Company blog · on HN since 2018

    Airbus's flight safety publication, with technical articles for pilots and operators on cockpit procedures, batteries, and aircraft systems.

    Visit blogHN submissions
    ScienceHardware & Electronics
    What HN says

    HN links it in aviation threads about sidestick dual-input warnings, lithium battery safety, and the fan cowl door key design, which one commenter calls elegant.

    Stats for nerds
    15HN people shared it
    1linked in comments
    2story points
    Aug 2026last shared
    2018people per year2026

    Top posts on HN

    1. 1
      Progress to Pinpoint an Aircraft’s Position (2017)
      1 person · 2 points · first shared 2018 · Discussion on HN
    2. 2
      Dual side stick inputs.pdf
      7 people · first shared 2018
    3. 3
      Landing with nosewheels at 90 degrees
      2 people · first shared 2024
    4. 4
      Lithium batteries safe to fly
      2 people · first shared 2020
    5. 5
      High altitude manual flying
      1 person · first shared 2023
    6. 6
      Are you properly seated
      1 person · first shared 2026
    7. 7
      Preventing fan cowl door loss
      1 person · first shared 2024

    What HN people wrote when they linked it

    • formerly_provenAug 2023

      https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/app/themes/mh_newsdesk/documents/archives/dual-side-stick-inputs.pdf

      Section 6

      > When a dual input situation is detected, the two
      green priority lights located on the cockpit front
      panel flash simultaneously.

      > After the visual indication has been triggered, a
      synthetic voice “DUAL INPUT” comes up every
      5 sec, as long as the dual input condition persists.

      According to Wikipedia, this warning system worked as intended:

      > Confused, Bonin exclaimed, "I don't have control of the airplane any more now", and two seconds later, "I don't have control of the airplane at all!"[42] Robert responded to this by saying, "controls to the left", and took over control of the aircraft.[83][44]

      > He pushed his side-stick forward to lower the nose and recover from the stall; however, Bonin was still pulling his side-stick back. The inputs cancelled each other out and triggered an audible "dual input" warning.

      > ...

      > Bonin heard this and replied, "But I've been at maximum nose-up for a while!" When Captain Dubois heard this, he realized Bonin was causing the stall, and shouted, "No no no, don't climb! No No No!"[85][44]

      > When Robert heard this, he told Bonin to give him control of the airplane.[2] In response to this, Bonin temporarily gave the controls to Robert.[44][85][2] Robert pushed his side-stick forward to try to regain lift for the airplane to exit the stall. However, the aircraft was too low to recover from the stall. Shortly thereafter, the…

    • jacquesmJun 2020

      You're fearmongering all over this thread. Stop digging, you are at hobbyist level with your knowledge on a forum with professionals. if you can't tell the difference between 'batteries will swell some during their operating life' vs 'excessive swelling is a sign things are about to go pear shaped' then you shouldn't be working on your own laptop period.

      Any laptop older than 12 months will have a slightly swollen battery (even if that swelling is accommodated by the case immediately around the battery so you won't see it).

      HN stands for 'hacker news', if batteries scare you then don't use them. The same goes for powertools, explosives, household cleaning products, chisels, hammers and so on. Danger is a relative thing. Knowing the head fire marshall of a very large (2 million inhabitants) European city: if you are afraid of fire then you should disconnect all your wall-warts. Those are the cause of a very large number of fires and the best way to deal with them is to switch them all off when you leave your home. Batteries are a very distant second to that and stories of them catching fire are rare enough that they make the news. See also: Samsung and Boeing.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_7#Battery_faults

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787_Dreamliner_battery_problems

      Note that a perfectly good battery can go into thermal runaway in a couple of seconds if mistreated, the amount of energy these pack is very impressive and if that energy is…

    • AnimatsDec 2018

      Not silently. There's a voice alert, "Priority Left" or "Priority Right", and a red light. But with other alarms active, it's likely to be missed.

      Airbus statement on sidesticks. [1]

      Boeing position on sidesticks.[2]

      This is a long-standing controversy. The F-16 fighter was the first aircraft produced with a sidestick. But that was so the pilot could control it during high-G maneuvers. Airbus's use of it has been controversial for years. For a good overview of the Airbus control system, read "Fly by Wire", by William Langewiesche.

      But that wasn't the problem with Lion Air.

      Airspeed. Attitude. Vertical speed. Altitude. If the pilot is operating on wrong information for any of those, they may lose control of the aircraft. All large aircraft have more than one of each of those. But when they disagree, or fail in a common mode, big trouble.

      Whether some other data source like GPS or inertial should be used to back up those is an open question. GPS can and is jammed. Inertial systems drift. Both are complicated. The classic instruments are so simple. But they rely on tubes to holes in the aircraft skin, which might become plugged for a number of reasons - ice, maintenance covers, insects, or dirt.

      [1] https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/app/themes/mh_newsdesk/documents/archives/dual-side-stick-inputs.pdf

      [2] http://archive.li/x0Pn8

    • ak217Apr 2023

      Flying an airliner by hand at cruise is dangerous and usually constitutes an emergency. ATC expects the plane to stay precisely at its assigned altitude, especially in RVSM airspace. It's difficult to keep that altitude by hand at speed. Cruise is also normally done close to the edge of the plane's abilities, so small deviations can have catastrophic effects (overspeed or stall).

      Pilots routinely do climbs and descents at lower altitudes by hand to practice their skills, but not cruise. See this Airbus doc: https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/high-altitude-manual-flying/

    • exidyApr 2022

      > I thought that Airbus makes the only airliners with no feedback when there are dual inputs applied

      This factoid will not die on HN. Conflicting inputs on an Airbus are handled by averaging and an audible "DUAL INPUT" cockpit warning.[1]

      In the case of AF447, the co-pilot used his "Priority Takeover" button which meant only his control inputs were in effect.

      If you wanted to say there is no physical feedback, then you would be correct.

      [1] https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/app/themes/mh_newsdesk/documents/archives/dual-side-stick-inputs.pdf

    • bonzogAug 2026

      The three-lamp triangle system is clever and reminds me of the Eye Reference Indicator in an aircraft cockpit. You adjust your seat so that the three balls are aligned in a specified way. [1]

      This is important in providing the correct visual reference out the window, as that in turn affects the pilot's perspective of other external cues.

      [1] https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/are-you-properly-seated/

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