A330-200

london
this is the plane that crashed. It says the plane is too reliant on computer technology. so when the auto pilot switched off for whatever reason, the pilot cannot drive the plane. There is just a joystick and no feel to driving the plane.
the plane is built without the gears and hydraulics of manual control, to lighten it, and had been advertised as being v advanced, using computer technology.
Well, if a computer can be knocked out by a mobile phone, (remember all those warnings about switching ur mobile phone off? ) I am a bit dubious about relying so much on them.
And if my experience of my laptop is any indication, i would not rely on it at all. Maybe it is wrong of me to prefer a plane that the pilot can fly even if all the computer on board goes kaput, It may be a pipe dream, because nowadays airplanes are so complex, it is impossible to fly without help from the computer.
Will people avoid the A330 plane? the boeing 777 is the equivalent. It was introduced in 1994, so many airlines have changed their planes to the A330 so there is no choice now.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6446268.ece
Maybe in the end, if the soul wants to go it will go and no avoiding it. Afterall, there was a really bad storm involved so it may be a one off. Most of us thinks the planes are so advanced they can cope with any weather, but nature is really ferocious and we forget that at our peril. All this wont deter me from flying.