J. Seagull, you refer to “smart comments” in relation to the Autopilot disconnect checklist. I am to infer from this that you are unfamiliar with the Autopilot disconnect checklist? You will find it in the autoflight section of the 737 QRH. It is an example of a case where departure from the SOP of only recall items to be done by recall is indicated by common sense. In fact to do as the SOPs dictate in the case I described would be illogical to the point of stupidity. I find it amusing that my exact adherence to the instructor’s instructions are described as a smart comment even though it did demonstrate the above point.
Errors or at least grey areas in the Boeing manuals are mercifully rare but when airline operations management start inventing things then errors, ambiguities and conflictions can really start having an effect. The answer of course is to know the books inside out rather than to ignore them. When these anomalies are found then they must be corrected, good luck by-the-way with getting the experts to even consider a change. You must be aware that there may be a time when you will be required to do the right thing and you have been trained to do just the wrong thing. I heard an instructor telling a group of pilots once that the correct recovery from a jet upset involved rolling completely inverted and pulling through. We’re only human, even the trainers. We all make mistakes. But the loss of life that would have resulted from a pilot following that instructor’s advice would have been appalling.
Mr. Seagull, keep on aviating, keep on navigating and remember that part of communication is listening.