Originally Posted by
TTail
Hi FullWings.
Your explanation on how things are resolved in a modern day cockpit makes for a very interesting read and should be part of the curriculum for any up and coming MCC/JOC student. It should also be interesting for the laypeople frequenting these pages. For a professional airline pilot it should be obvious.
I agree with you that Human Factors is a subject of much interest and it is also where I feel I still have the most to learn about the Ethiopean accident. As much as I hate this MAX software addition and its capabilities, I do think I have picked up on the significant features of the MCAS and further detail on it would most likely not have had any influence on how I would deal with an "MCAS Runaway Stabilizer" or whatever we end up calling this scenario.
Although some contributors on this forum have a less than diplomatic way of stating certain facts and assumptions about the crew's actions and inactions I don't think this should be interpreted as putting the whole blame on the crew. Not even close. But there certainly is a lot to be explored following the statement by Ethiopean officials that the crew "followed expected procedures" implying there are no issues whatsover concerning the crew's way of dealing with the problems of this flight. And it is in this space I believe some posters in here get a little bit agitated, trying to get that point across.
There certainly were a number of crossroads at which catastrophy could have been avoided on ET302, especially up to the point of flap retraction and a bit, and from a Human Factors perspective it is extremely interesting to learn why certain choices were made. We all know that the company culture of an airline and also the culture of countries/regions greatly influence how we behave, both as people and as pilots. This has nothing to do with the "supremancy of the Western pilot" or however some may want to phrase it in these times of identity politics.
But when countries ban unions, when people are fired for having opposing views to those of their superiors, when airlines ban handflying within the autopilot envelope and mandate autolands, when airlines have the captain always be the Pilot Flying, when one thousand airline flying hours may entail only a dozen or two actual take-offs and landings.... If you become financially penalized or limited in your career advancement due to non-compliance with said policies, you know there are issues that need to be addressed. I don't think it should be perceived as offensive to ask if any of these or other factors were important when it comes to understanding why a seemingly experienced captain would try to engage the autopilot at 400'AGL while the stickshaker is going off? And why choose the onside autopilot? Why clean up? Regardless of any NNC memory/recall items or checklists, why not establish a known and safe pitch/thrust setting and fly the aircraft? Does everything boil down to "the startle effect" when at first the stick shaker goes off and then later the AP trips off at the same time they clean up? These are not unreasonable questions to ask.
It is a sad fact that whoever is left holding the matches when the house burns down will be looked at with much scrutiny - even by his friends.