This is a very strange accident and there has been massive speculation as to how the operating crew could possibly have ended up in this situation. There has also been a lot of conjecture based on limited knowledge. I am currently typed on the aircraft and I admit to be being baffled how an experienced captain could do some of the things that are being alleged to have happened. I accept that we are probably in for some more surprises, but encouraged that the flight and voice recorders have been recovered, which should eventually throw some light on the situation. Although I suspect we will be left shaking our heads very much as we did with the Air France A330.
What I would caution against are absolute statements. For example we simply don't yet know whether the gear was selected down and did not extend because of the protections and was then selected up again before first contact with the runway. This requires a fairly convoluted series of actions not least the failure to properly select TOGA at the first attempt. But it is conceivable.
Just as it is conceivable that the crew ignored all the warnings and failed to lower the gear. We will eventually find out. We have also had some crusty old pros saying that the Airbus flies just like any other aircraft. At one level that is true. But in reality in normal operation it does a lot of the work for you. Which is where we get back to the insidious skill deterioration that automation encourages. Maybe a Corona enforced reduction in flying, plus low blood sugar, plus Airbus skill atrophy lined up the holes in the Swiss cheese. In which case we need to be very careful when we all go flying again.
We have also had some interesting inputs from the ATC perspective. I am surprised that the tower was not closely watching an approach that appeared so unusual, particularly at a time of lower than usual traffic. Perhaps they were caught off guard by the aircraft reaching the runway sooner than expected. If they were maintaining in excess of 200 knots inside the last three miles rather than the more usual 130 then the controller may have been looking the wrong way. But it is still odd and given the strong military influence in Pakistan the absence of a check of the gear position prior to landing is more notable than it might be at a big airport in Europe.
Anyway I think we should keep and open mind and treat each other with courtesy as well as hopefully learning something from these sad events.
Last edited by lederhosen; 30th May 2020 at 20:52.