What we might do better
To a great extent I think we are losing sight of what we all might learn from this accident. There is a debate about whether Boeing or Airbus have the best technology, this is rather irrelevant, we mostly either fly Boeing or Airbus and don’t have too much choice about it.
We must learn to recognise and cope with the weaknesses of our own aircraft.
Each aircraft design has good and bad points. In normal operation they mostly work perfectly well. When things go wrong it is normally due to a lack of understanding, a failure to apply SOPs or an unusual situation which was not handled correctly.
The first two of these should be dealt with by normal training events in the simulator but the third needs us all to think.
I have been flying both civil and military for40 years now, I have always looked at accident reports, both pilot error and technical defects and, wondered if I would have survived the particular incident, sometimes I believed my though processes would have avoided the accident but sometimes I could see no way that I would not have died as well. A very sobering though process.
What do you as an individual think of this accident, might it have caught you out?? For instance I will tell you what I have learnt. From now on I will brief differently for any take off or landing that involves non standard operation of the controls, I will ensure that the PNF specifically monitors my required actions in order to add his/her capacity to ensure they have been carried out. I intend to add a brief reminder of the non standard items shortly prior to their occurrence. When I am PNF I will do the same.
I don’t want to prejudge the accident investigators but if, in this instance the PF had briefed for the PNF to observe both thrust levers into reverse as per the MEL in addition to the normal landing call outs we might not be writing to each other now.
As another more simple example, if you operate a sector with the auto-throttle u/s do you brief that at every 1000ft to level off you call e.g. 6000ft for 5000ft “manual thrust”, it helps!
It is all very well to have the Operational Procedures section of the MEL but do you adjust you briefing to include how the PNF might check/confirm you actions as PF.
I hate the thought of being bid headed enough to think that “it would not have happened to me”, the biggest disservice we can pay to these poor people is to not learn from their misfortune, personally I have adjusted the way I will brief when there are similar critical items. I would like to do my best to ensure I don’t get put into a situation I can’t get out of.
Safe Flying.