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A blocked pitot tube is a pitot–static problem that will only affect airspeed indicators. [6] A blocked pitot tube will cause the airspeed indicator to register an increase in airspeed when the aircraft climbs, even though actual airspeed is constant.
The pitot tube supplies pressure to the airspeed indicator. Pitot pressure is equal to stagnation pressure providing the pitot tube is aligned with the local airflow, it is located outside the boundary layer, and outside the wash from the propeller.
This example, from an Airbus A380, combines a pitot tube (right) with a static port and an angle-of-attack vane (left). Air-flow is right to left. Types of pitot tubes A pitot-static tube connected to a manometer Pitot tube on Kamov Ka-26 helicopter A Formula One car during testing with frames holding many pitot tubes Location of pitot tubes on ...
Malfunctioning pitot tubes provided an early focus for the investigation, [15] as the aircraft involved had Thales-built "–AA" models known to record faulty airspeed data during icing conditions. [16] In July 2009, Airbus advised A330 and A340 operators to replace Thales pitots with equivalents manufactured by Goodrich. [16]
An example of a pitot head. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) led the accident investigation and released its final report on August 13, 1975. [3] Investigators found that the flight crew had not activated the pitot head heaters and the pitot tubes had become blocked with ice which caused the crew to receive incorrect airspeed ...
1 June 2009 – Air France Flight 447 entered a stall and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean following pitot tube failures and improper control inputs by the first officer. All 216 passengers and twelve crew members died.
None of the pitot tubes were recovered so investigators were unable to determine for certain what caused the blockage. Investigators believe that the most likely culprit was the black and yellow mud dauber ( Sceliphron caementarium ), a type of solitary sphecid wasp well known to Dominican pilots, which makes a cylindrical nest out of mud and ...
The two points of interest are 1) in the freestream flow at relative speed where the pressure is called the "static" pressure, (for example well away from an airplane moving at speed ); and 2) at a "stagnation" point where the fluid is at rest with respect to the measuring apparatus (for example at the end of a pitot tube in an airplane).