A350 的 FCU 包括两部分, AFS(Auto Flight System) 控制面板,和 EFIS 控制面板。
在不正常程序中这两个面板的故障一共有5种,基本都会影响 RNP AR 能力:
- AUTO FLT AFS CTL PNL FAULT
- AUTO FLT AFS CTL PNL+CAPT(F/O) BKUP CTL FAULT
- CDS CAPT + F/O EFIS CTL PNLs FAULT
- CDS CAPT(F/O) EFIS CTL PNL + BKUP CTL FAULT
- CDS CAPT(F/O) EFIS CTL PNL FAULT
同时在 FCOM PRO-SPO-PBN K RNP AR / RNAV(RNP) - REQUIRED RNP AR EQUIPMENT 部分也提到了 RNP AR 能力的所需设备:
但是,不正常程序和上述表格中的描述并不一致,EFIS CP 部分甚至完全相反:
对此,空客的回复如下:(红色部分是个人标注的重点)
After investigation we would like to clarify that the RNP AR degradation subtitles and information lines is not as a result of the panel failure but because of a different root cause. For instance, the ECAM alert CDS CAPT(F/O) EFIS CTL PNL FAULT can be triggered because of several reasons, but it is only when the root cause is the loss of corresponding FCU channel that the PRIM downgrades the RNP AR capability. The Flight Warning System (FWS) activates the RNP AR downgrade information lines only upon the PRIM signal. Airbus understands that the condition to display the RNP AR downgrade information in the FCOM ECAM procedure is not clear. We are currently in discussion on how to improve this.
For CDS CAPT+F/O EFIS CTL PNLs FAULT, Airbus confirms that with this alert the RNP AR capability is also downgraded to 0.3NM. However, the RNP AR impacts are not included in this alert (neither subtitle nor procedure line) as AUTO FLT AFS CTL PNL FAULT will also be triggered in case of double FCUs failure. It has been judged more relevant to include RNP impacts in the AUTO FLT AFS CTL PNL FAULT alert.
AFS 和 EFIS 控制面板故障原因不止一种,但只有 FCU 通道失效会导致 PRIM 降级 RNP AR 能力。而在上述5种不正常程序中,空客并没有细化到描述每一种原因的影响,所以并不准确,这一点在后续会改进。
对于这几种情况,风险最大的是 CDS CAPT + F/O EFIS CTL PNLs FAULT,因为如果表格是正确的,已经降级为 0.3 NM了,但是程序显示仍然保持 0.1 NM,就会导致机组在精度不够的情况下执行 RNP AR。但空客解释说,如果是由于 FCU 双通道故障,也会同时触发 AUTO FLT AFS CTL PNL FAULT,而这个程序会显示降级为 0.3 NM,所以消除了上述可能的风险。由于公司 A350 并没有涉及 RNP AR 运行,具体细节尚未在模拟机和实际航班中进行验证。
总的来说,由于 A350 计算机复杂程序远远超过以往机型,在一些涉及到安全的细节上,如果空客还没有提供明确的信息,机组还是需要尽量利用已有资料,综合判断。