Can Airbus A330-203 reach the speed of sound?

Answer 1

On 1 June 2009 an Airbus A330-203 en route from Brasil, Rio de Janeiro to France, Paris crashlanded on the surface of Atlantic Ocean. While this is still under investigation, one thing is clear: the plane had enough time to send 24 alert messages via satellite as its automatic systems were failing one after another. It seems that the plane disintegrated mid-air. One possible cause is that the pilots thought they were losing speed and tried to speed up, as their speed sensors showed some fluctuation and showed less than what they were travelling at. Reaching close or over the speed of sound usually has catastrophic results on plane no built to withstand Mach 1 speed. Thus if the pilots decided to go full throttle, speed at which there was no point of return could be possibly reached. At that time two possible outcomes come to mind: the plane or its parts (wings, aileron, flaps, etc.) could have broken off and sending the plane into a tailspin or continue with general disintegration. The other possibility is that the engine(s) failed first, which is very likely, because the Airbus A330-203 uses General Electric CF6-80E1A3 which has fan diametrer of huge 2.44m (96 inches!). Wikipedia has this to say about the engine: "The CF6-80E1A3 was a stretch too far for the family with severe deterioration in service" Thus, one may see that if the engine was about to reach service limits and would encounter severe weather conditions, like speed nearing Mach1, or hailstones which on rare occasions can be thrown to 10km altitudes, it is thinkable that the plane would suffer catastrophic damage originating from multiple blade loss on one or both engines.

More likely scenario would be reaching M1 speed overloading the engines AND oversressing the structural integrity of the plane, as the building material can withstand only certain number of high shocks and upon reaching Mach1 these would be permanent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_CF6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A330#Engines