Originally Posted by
vilas
I have never disputed anything that you have stated. Only thing is I don't consider rotating at Vr to takeoff attitude as a raw data or any skill. It's very basic and surely these pilots were not doing their first takeoff. They missed setting up the MCP, they didn't include it in the briefing, they didnt check the FMA(unless not required in B777), all this is done on every takeoff day in and day out. I am trying to figure out what distracted them from doing so this one time. This cannot be called a complex automation induced error since automation behaved as programmed but pilot induced error. Offcourse none of us know the details. So we will have to wait.
Fair, of course a proper investigation also has to find out why the MCP was not properly set. However this is not the fundamental problem raised by the incident.
The fundamental problem is that such a minor lapse like wrong values in the autoflight system, that can happen to anyone of us at any time, can lead to such a hairy outcome flying wise.
How comes a crew is unable to perform one of the most basic manoeuvers when the FD does not indicate properly? A manoeuver which is by the way anyways not supposed to be performed according to FD, you only use FD on the initial climb-out once speed and pitch and with it also FD are stabilised.
That is the fundemental question.
When you lose an engine just after v1, the FD takes quite a while to indicate the proper (reduced from normal) pitch target, until it does, you also fly it according pitch and speed, better you not only know your normal climb-out pitch by heart, but also your one-engine-out pitch by heart.