Originally Posted by
Bob Viking
Let me begin by repeating I have never flown an Airbus, or any heavy aircraft (a go in the Nimrod sim doesn’t really count).
However, there are a few things you say that don’t sit easy with me.
You say the junior pilot hadn’t settled in. He stated he had the controls and had been in the seat for 9 minutes when the AP disconnected. How long does he need to get comfortable. I also don’t believe he didn’t realise he was pulling back on the stick. How could a qualified pilot not know that?
As for the other pilot feeling ‘put down’, I don’t buy it. Surely any long haul airline pilot must expect for the duties to be shared round between the crew.
Is it possible, I’m honestly not trying to start an argument, that some people are looking to provide excuses for the crew when really there aren’t any?
The one positive thing that comes out of the AF447 incident is the learning that is now, belatedly, coming out of it.
As I said I am not trying to rile people but, as a frequent long haul passenger, I obviously have a vested interest.
BV
Thank you for a helpful input, I'd not known the PF had been in his seat 9 minutes before the AP disconnected.
The details of the timeline are important, because he did pull the plane up to an unsustainable height pretty immediately on taking the LH seat and the PM remonstrated.
The crew dynamics matter, because the PM was senior but apparently on a slower track than the PF, so the PM did not assert himself when the PF goofed.
A lot of this was touched on in the AF447 threads, including the suggestion, which seemed plausible to me, that the PF had not settled fully into his seat and hence was not keeping the stick neutral.
I can't explain the initial altitude bust otherwise.