Originally Posted by
Boeingdriver999
I agree that by publishing the full CVR they are saying something. Why they can’t state that the crew were lacking any sort of discipline I don’t know.
They were talking about anything but the operation the entire time and the interaction between the two pilots and ATC was crammed with extraneous verbal diarrhoea which only added to workload/stress leaving no cognitive capacity to deal with the ONLY thing that mattered.............
I have read most of the report and the CVR transcript, and I agree.
From the report, this Captain was clearly not suitable to be a Captain. Although he sort of generally did what was required, he obviously did not do everything, did not look at details, and his mind was not focussed on the flight. During cockpit prep, there was a very long diatribe from the Captain about another F/O and full and free control checks, which was not appropriate.
Then during the emergency, there seems to have been a complete lack of procedure. I don't know the B737- 200 SOPs or checklists, but surely there must be a section to correctly identify a failed engine - using
all the indications and all the engine gauges - and apply max continuous thrust to the good engine? Or wasn't this a procedure in the - 200 days?
From the start of the CVR transcript, this Captain was not being methodical, and he was not focussing on the task at hand. All that stuff about another pilot was irrelevant and a distraction which would have been best left for the hotel or the transport after their duty had finished.
During the emergency, the Captain accepted the F/Os word about the failed engine, but then somehow managed to swap that over in his head to the other engine. Unfortunately, the F/O did not correct him on this - I cannot think why, unless he too was overwhelmed by the situation.
There seem to be similarities between this accident and the UK Kegworth accident - both misidentifying a failed engine in a B737 and crashing with their one good engine at idle. Perhaps Boeing urgently need to review their engine fail procedures and SOPs - especially in the B737 - Classic and the B737 - Prehistoric.
But how did this Captain pass his recurrent Sim checks with his general lack of procedure and lack of attention to detail ? He was once pulled up for not following checklists, but that seems to have been about it.
I have always had doubts about airlines checking their own pilots in the Sim. Once, as PM in the Sim; I personally witnessed a new manager to the company 'handle' an EFATO a bit like this - vague, loose and not following the SOPs etc., although he did keep control of the aircraft. I thought to myself, oh dear how embarrassing, there will be words and he will have to do that all again - (had I not followed the prescribed procedures, I would definitely have been torn off a strip) - but amazingly, the company TRE said to him Yes.......that's all fine !!
As well as most problems in a Sim being blamed on the F/Os, I have personally seen sub-optimum PIC performance being nodded through, especially when a manager is being assessed by a TRE who is junior to that manager, but also a senior pilot being assessed by a TRE technically junior to them.
In terms of CRM, I got the impression - from his very short replies - that this F/O was wishing that the Captain would shut up about the other F/O, and just had his head down trying to get on with the flight - but he did not know how to make the Captain shut up. Later in the flight, the F/O says fly the plane
please, or pull up
please. Please ?? No need for "please" in an emergency. That suggests to me that the F/O felt he could not control the Captain until it got to the point when the F/O became fearful of a bad outcome, but even then he could not bring himself to directly order the Captain.
In CRM, we are shown accidents and CRM failures, but in my experience, F/Os have never actually been taught
how to 'control' a Captain. Some know already but others don't, and it is not easy to override a difficult Captain, or make them behave in a cockpit during a flight. I have had to do it twice, (and once in a restaurant), with stern words, and it was not easy.