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Old 16th Aug 2007, 02:10
  #1691 (permalink)  
marciovp
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Ifs

To try to wrap things out. First and foremost, in hindsight it is easy to know what could have been done better. Let me go into the ifs that perhaps would have made a difference in this sad and terrible disaster:
  • If TAM did not fly with the reversors locked out...
  • If TAM did not put more fuel than necessary in that plane...
  • If TAM did not fly with so many passengers and employees...
  • If the co-pilot also had a long experience with A-320s...
  • If it was not raining...
  • If Congonhas had a longer runway and escape zone
  • If Congonhas was not slippery as reported by other planes
  • If the pilot decided to land at Guarulhos instead...
  • If the pilot did not forget to idle the right TL
  • If TAM had installed the new warning system for this situation
  • If the pilots would go around when the GS did not arm
  • If the pilots discovered the position of the right TL before landing
I guess, the disaster would not have happened if 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, just one of them, was present.

2,3,4,5,7,11 could have made a difference in terms of less pressure and distraction on the pilots.

Oops... I forgot this possibility of not being able to move the TL. Yes, bomarc, "desacelere" in Brazil specifically means "reduce thrust". And "nao consigo" means what you said in your poster: difficulty moving something or doing something.

Some very good folks in Brazil, accustomed to the slang/colloquilisms of Portuguese, have contacted me and explained that the words used on the CVR/Transcript meant that there was difficulty in moving something (thought to be the throttles, or the devices used to control acceleration), just like words in English that might have meant difficulty in opening a Jar...something was stuck.

While arguments in favor of the plane vs. the pilots have been quite well written, there is still a chance that moving the throttles was not possible.

Last edited by marciovp; 16th Aug 2007 at 02:57. Reason: To add bomarc commentary...and suggestion
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