Originally Posted by
blind pew
You guys are missing the truth as the crew were totally unprofessional as they had spent the day sight seeing in RIO including a helicopter flight instead of resting. The Skipper was more interested in his girlfriend than ensuring the safety of his aircraft during the crossing of the ITCZ which possesses the most dangerous wx that I have experienced. PM was apparently one of those guys whom, if in BA, would have been classed as coordiniated enough to master the handshake and was on his 90 day recency trip. Neither of them up front knew how to use the radar and successfully cross the zone whereas all the other aircraft that night made safe decisions. Extremely tired, frightened and in the middle of the night not having adequate training and with uncertified, defective pitots they didn't stand a chance. It's significant that Air France brought in a group of experienced, well qualified foreign pilots to sort out their typical French arrogant establishment.
......and so, I ask, why was’nt the captain, anywhere near the ITZC, in his seat , strapped in, with the radar looking 200 miles ahead with a tilt of about 3 degrees searching for the weather which might, or might not be shown on the charts?
Unbelievably poor airmanship.
I also ask why on earth EVERY pilot, supposedly qualified to fly an airliner, does not know how to use the weather radar, if he does not he is not, in my opinion, fully qualified at all.