Problems with Inspection Practices

Wissing and seven other American pilots wrote a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, raising concerns about the control system. They listed another problem with the Airbus: the tail assembly itself.

Pilots have called for a change in the way it is inspected. The tail is made of composite material — hundreds of layers of carbon fiber — and a visual inspection is required only once every five years. But, as some experts argue, this isn't enough.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor James Williams believes the inspection policy is inadequate because little is known about deterioration of composites over time or from turbulence.

"This is a lamentably naive policy," Williams told ABCNEWS. "It is analogous to assessing whether a woman has breast cancer by simply looking at her family portrait."

Because the composite lugs that hold together the tail to the fuselage are hidden from view, Williams says the visual inspections are not enough, even though some argue that deconstructing the plane for inspection could be more destructive. He says the designers of passenger jets should make it easier for any vital parts made up of composites to be inspected safely with ultrasound.