Are some aircraft behind the times?

An article stated that the crash of Airbus flight 447 could have gone down due to a part of an instrument known as air tubes. The tubes are supposed to send a signal to other devices to be converted into the speed of the aircraft, then sent to the flight computer on board. It speculated about air tubes possibly icing up, which would cause a plane to fly at possibly the wrong speed, for the current weather it was in.

If you own a boat, you may be familiar with water tubes. They are the tube shaped sensors mounted on the hull which drag in the water creating a signal, that after being converted, is sent to a speedometer so you can see how fast you are traveling. These tubes are old technology which would be fine to use as a backup to newer technology.

Today any of you reading this article can go right now to your local gadget store and get a GPS to mount on the dash of your car.  With the help of satellites, it will not only tell you where to turn, but it will also give you the speed you are traveling and warn you if you go over the speed limit for the road your on, so you don’t get a ticket. All this and with many more capabilities also. For around $100 bucks for a cheep one, you shouldn’t leave home without one.

Why then would any airline lack the use of this technology and still be relying on something that has now become outdated. Especially when most aircraft have autopilot. It just doesn’t make sense. Are there any pilots out there that would like to enlighten us. It would greatly be appreciated.

Bankruptnooption.