Originally Posted by
Tomaski
In regards to the AA587 A-300 accident, the yaw doublet that led to the vertical fin failure was the result of a number of interrelated issues of which the AAMP training was certainly a part. However, there were also issues related to rudder sensitivity vs airspeed and Vm limitations that were not well documented in the existing manual which contributed to overcontrol/PIO inputs. There was a lot of good information in the AAMP videos, but the section on the use of rudder in large transport aircraft did not have sufficient warnings regarding the dangers.
A pilot friend once told me there was an anomaly in the American A-300 simulator that - in that sort of wake encounter - you could quickly and easily straighten out the aircraft with a quick 'left-right' or 'right-left' rudder input. This had the unfortunate effect of teaching some of the pilots a bad habit - which ultimately bit them on AA587.
Assuming my friend knew what he was talking about (he usually did), while the maneuver wasn't 'trained' as such, it was inadvertently taught.