Safety - Icing up of sensor probes again a killer

Sensor icing likely cause of Air Algerie crash


The icing of engine power management sensors triggered the stall and fatal crash of Air Algerie flight AH5017 in northwest Africa last July 24, according to an investigation.

French air accident investigation agency BEA and Mali's Commission d'Enquêtes Accidents et Incidents de l'Aviation Civile issued the update as the investigation proceeded. A final report is due in December.

Air Algerie Flight AH5017 from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers was being operated by a Spanish wet-lease company Swiftair on behalf of the North African flag carrier with a Boeing MD-83.

It crashed in the Gossi region of northeastern Mali, killing all 110 passengers and six crew. The flight data recorder has yielded usable information, but the cockpit voice recorder is unreadable.

The aircraft, EC-LTV, took-off at 01:15 local and climbed uneventfully to its cruise attitude of 31,000 ft., with the crew making several heading changes to fly around a storm cell. The autopilot and the autothrottle were engaged.