Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009. It was later revealed that the FO was unwittingly pulling the sidestick back, stalling the aircraft. The aircraft was an Airbus 330.
China Airlines Flight 006 almost crashed in February 1985 when the captain failed to step on the rudder after a sudden single engine failure at its cruising altitude and it got into a steep spiral. It recovered from the spiral descent thousands of feet above the Pacific Ocean but it experienced significant structural damages. The aircraft was a Boeing 747.
Some people say that the first accident could have been prevented if the sidesticks of the pilots had been inter-connected such that when one pilot moves his sidestick the other moves the same, just like the yoke system of Boeing aircraft. Also, some people say the second accident could have been prevented if the autopilot system had been programmed to correct excessive roll or pitch maneuvers caused by the pilot's control inputs or their absence.
But it looks like neither of the companies has adopted such suggestions, and that got me curious. Do they learn from each other? Do they correct their systems based on their competitor's accidents?