VHHX
Kai Tak was surely a place on its own
And as you correctly mention :
Perhaps more “Go around” yoke inputs (from either seat) may have been appropriate. We are in greater danger from ourselves than the aircraft we fly
But take the same TWO crew members on an identical situation, on the same aircraft,
and,
as a team,
the crew with
fully visible coupled control columns
has a better tool
than the crew with
fully invisible independent sidesticks.
... Simply because they
do share more vital information.
And here is an interesting note on how Airbus sidestick philosophy can keep one guy
out of the loop in marginal flight conditions.
This is extracted from a Company Flight Analysis Bulletin
Simultaneous inputs and Go-Around
I did translate some of the FO comments (who was Pilot Monitoring at the time) during that turbulent and windy approach, and the go-around :
... that’s the instant I’ve REALIZED I didn’t know how the CAPT was reacting.
I had no idea of his inputs, I was guessing, ... I had that unpleasant powerless feeling, loneliness and passivity, I could only hear his sidestick reaching mechanical limits, I felt very helpless ...
That was a real paradox to be in the cockpit with a maximum of attention, ready to react, and not having a minimum of information on the PF inputs,
... I imagine I could have had a similar feeling during my 2000 hours as mountain flight instructor on plane and glider if I had not had dual control commands on specific flight phases.
After analysis, the commission came to this somehow revealing conclusion:
As sidestick coupling has not been planed on A-320 and A-340, one must find a solution
Afterwards Airbus made that study I was mentioning earlier, and came to the conclusion that:
Interconnection was operationally not beneficial, and technically not efficient
At the same time Airbus decided to implement the DUAL INPUT WARNING