MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lan Chile changing the controversial speed sensors of its Airbus fleet

Pitot probes measure air pressure and by extension the speed of the aircraft.

Chile’s flag carrier began changing the airspeed sensors in all its Airbus planes following on the steps of Air France’s decision as a consequence of the loss of flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean with 228 people on board.

The speed sensors or “pitot probes” have been identified as one of the many possible causes of the still unsolved accident, but not the only one, according to France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, BEA.

“We first checked all the technical information, and then we contacted representatives from Airbus and Lan to know the current condition of their fleet and what actions they were planning in respect”, said Herbert Gunter from the Chilean Civil Aviation office.

“Lan Airlines also decided to make the modifications, to replace the speed sensors, a task which began yesterday; in a short time they should all be equipped with the new sensors”, added Gunter.

Lan also has affiliates in Argentina, Peru, Dominican Republic and its fleet of aircrafts includes Airbus models 318, 319, 320 and 340.

Lan reported that so far there are no technical instructions from Airbus. The pieces in the process of change are the “pitot probes”. They are small highly sophisticated sensors fixed on to the fuselage and measure air pressure thus helping indicate the speed the aircraft is flying at.

In related news Lan Airlines reported that system passenger traffic for May increased 11.4% as capacity rose 10.8%. As a result, the Company’s load factor increased 0.4 points to 72.0%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 70% of total passenger traffic.

Domestic passenger traffic in Chile, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador rose 30.2% as capacity increased 29.6%. As a consequence, the domestic load factor for the month increased 0.3 points to 71.9%.

International passenger traffic for May rose 4.8% as capacity increased 4.2%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month increased 0.4 points to 72.1%. International capacity was mainly driven by an increase in operations on regional routes, as well as routes to Europe and to the United States, partially offset by certain capacity adjustments on routes to Mexico.

In-line with the decrease in global import and export markets, during the month of May, cargo traffic decreased 17.4%. This decrease was mainly due to a slowdown in import and export markets in Latin America.