Originally Posted by
Buswinker
Question, I read the flight was scheduled to be operated by an -800 and the -500 was a last minute swap in. Would the same crew operate both? Are there significant enough differences between the two for that to cause issues?
The short answer is yes. It’s certainly legal in many countries, and is common practice at numerous airlines. How easy it is to do depends on a number of factors. Experience and recency being the main ones. The other being the cockpit setup. ie. some glass or old school analogue instrumentation.
If you’ve been flying an NG predominantly, and have little recency and/or experience in a Classic 737 (300/500). It can be a bit of a shock to the system for the first hour. It’s completely dependent on the crew.
Regarding the cockpit differences. Imagine expecting this -
and instead, find this at the gate -
I’m sure some will disagree with regard to the differences, and their significance.
One other point about this tragic accident - the altitude it began at. One wonders if a pressurisation event occurred ? Either mechanical or self inflicted. Unfamiliar cockpit, distraction, weather in the area. Swiss cheese model perhaps ? Or it’s irrelevant.