The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will receive the draft report on the 12 November 2001 Belle Harbor, New York crash of American Airlines flight AA587 this week. The report is set to be controversial, since the crash has sparked debate between the manufacturer Airbus and the airline as to whether the incident was pilot error or a design fault. The crash followed the separation of the tail fin of an American Airbus A300-600R after the aircraft had passed through wake turbulence. Airbus alleges American pilot training for flight upset recovery, including the use of rudder to correct roll where appropriate, may have caused the first officer of AA587 to use a sequence of full rudder reversals taking the load on the fin beyond its design limits. American says it has never trained its pilots to do what appears to have happened. The report is due in four months.
Source: Flight International
