Air France Crew May Have Faced Baffling Data in 2009 Crash

Air France Flight 447’s pilots were probably bewildered by erratic instrument readings and may have done the opposite of what was needed to keep the jet from crashing into the Atlantic in 2009, safety specialists said.

One pilot responded to stall alarms by angling the Airbus SAS A330’s nose higher, according to a preliminary report from the French air-accident investigation office. Pilots are trained to avert stalls, which occur when an aircraft slows enough that its wings lose lift, by dropping the nose to increase speed.