I suspect there are literally millions of rear-end collisions caused by hitting either the clutch pedal or the gas instead of the brake and more than likely both, even using both feet. It's a car. What do should designers do with that? Build "protective" shields against stupidity or incompetence? We all know that both characteristics exist on our roads no matter where each of us are drivers.
Come to think about I do enjoy exchanging ideas with you. Why? Because you stimulate my thinking. Yes you made another good point...but...it is not quite the same thing. Every driver knows and repeats a million times how to brake his car. Like every pilot knows and does this thousand of times how to land his plane. Even I used to know hoe to idle the little Cherokees. In the case of the A320 it is simple: just pull both TLs to idle and then Rev. The plane does the rest. Well, occasionally, I would say rarely this procedure changes: the pilot now has to pul ONE TL to Idle and Rev...He is not used doing his, pulling ONE TL?... and then he must pull the other TL but stop in Idle... That is a big change insofar as he is used to...Worse yet, if he pulls one to reverse and forgets to bring the other to Idle (mind you he is used to move both together) then the conseguences are not minor (we know). I am not trying just to make my point or blame AB. But if I built a plane that carries this possibility with these terrible consequences I would make sure, besides the Mels, to have the software help the pilot caught in this dangerous predicament.
Shall designers pick up the slack?
No, of course not. I agree with the need for training for this rare occasion...But you know in hindsight everything is easy. I do expect that with three similar disasters the designers would figure a way to warn the pilots when this situation happens again. Or something else. What has been done?
Why ten days ? First of all it is the maximum period the aircraft is allowed to fly with this defect.
The rational? Why ten and not twelve... or five? Why not allow the plane just to fly to the closest maintenance site? Why allow the plane to fly with excess fuel, passengers, to a wet slippery runway? I know this is not AB fault... but, see above my exchange of ideias with PJ2. Lemurian, I also appreciate your presence and your thoughts. For me it is a pleasure to exchange ideias with the experts in this thread. It should be a fun thing, not a fight. Regards.