All over the world below 10000ft you have to 250kt. So what's the problem lowering gear? You don't need to check. About the Airbus heading, there's no system limitation but not following SOP of pulling HDG first and then setting has resulted in a fatal accident of AirBlue in Pakistan. Out of many things wrong they did dialling in NAV mode was the last straw. In a circling approach Capt was in panick in low clouds and rain. Trying to turn base on AP he dialed 90° left, seeing ac not turning dialled some more to go past 180° from present. Then realising he was in NAV mode (shouldn't have been to start with) letting go some expletives pulled to HDG mode. The aircraft turned shorter way to right to crash into a hill. Killing all 150 people on board. All of his 20000hrs thick logbook didn't save him. SOPs are not optional. Human propensity to err is virtually unlimited. Cockpit is hardly the place to be creative. QZ8501 trying to engineer a procedure at 35000ft all the zeros over 3 vanished 3.5mts and 130 people went to watery grave. Just Fly the way manufacturer wants you to fly unless there's no procedure. It happened in AB erroneous triggering of protection and air craft could not be prevented from a descent. Now crew was forced to do something and they put the aircraft in alternate law to disengage the protection. My hats off to them. There was one odd case of this but when they made it a possible procedure for such scenario there were dozen cases of wrong application when problem was something else. Doesn't help trying to be extra smart.
Last edited by vilas; 20th Feb 2021 at 09:50.