Airbus Industries Flight 129 – Test flight accident - First A330 crash

Video from the channel Víctor Vic: Reconstrucción de Accidentes Aéreos about Airbus, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:08. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

A reconstruction of the Airbus Industrie Flight 129 accident, an A330 test flight that crashed on 30 June 1994 at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. It was the type's first accident.

That day the aircraft had already completed a first test with two aborted approaches simulating the loss of an engine. On the second flight, with water ballast that put the centre of gravity close to the rear limit, the plan was to take off, bring engine 1 to idle, cut a hydraulic circuit and engage the autopilot to climb to 2,000 feet. In command was Airbus's chief test pilot, Nick Warner, with co-pilot Michel Cais, a captain at Air Inter, and flight engineer Jean-Pierre Petit. Also on board were two Airbus executives and two Alitalia pilots. The autopilot took about seven seconds to engage and pitched up at a 32-degree angle. The aircraft kept losing speed down to about 100 knots, below the 118-knot stall speed, lost roll control, stalled and crashed on the outskirts of the airport. All seven people on board died.

The investigating commission attributed the accident to a combination of factors. The captain was exhausted after a very demanding day, there had been no prior briefing or clear division of duties, and the initial rotation was 25 degrees against the usual 14.5. In addition, the test actions were carried out right after take-off, which took the captain's attention away from flying, and there was overconfidence and a delayed reaction to the risk.