Indonesian aircraft missing off Jakarta

[edmundronald]

No turn around and and land?

Not a pilot, feel free to delete ...

Absent airspeed indications, I would expect pilots to set throttle and AoA for stable flight, declare an emergency, get an estimation of windspeed from ground, point a Mark I Eyeball out the window on that pointy end, and use the compass, radio altimeter and groundspeed indicators to navigate back to the airfield, and land - surely with a 5mph ground wind, and decent weather, a visual-only landing is a possibility?

I know that flying is hard and requires specialist training but if visual flying of a modern airplane in good conditions at 5000ft has become impossible for trained pilots with 5000 hours, then maybe this is an issue for input to the politicians and not to be left for the industry to bury in the name of "self-regulation"? Or is the "blocked vents ==> mass funeral" scenario now going to be played out every few years?

AF447 was a wake up call on the effects of bad airspeed indications ...

I think those smart guys with sliderules in Seattle and Toulouse are perfectly capable of making planes that can be flown by hand when necessary, provided the customers or supervisory authorities ask nicely.

Edmund