How the wheel has turned throughout the years. Initially all drills were memorised and people were killed because they forgot something or other like trim and flaps. So the Yanks brought in written checklists based on one pilot challenges while the other bloke responds. Then they found out it was possible to actually miss one line in the written checklist and someone gets killed. Interestingly you got to be so familiar with the written checklist and correct response that occasionally someone would miss an item and the other bloke would think - there is something missing here, mate, and pick him up. So they invented those funny little flick over checklists like on the early F28 and even put them on radar screens as well. But still some retained a card checklist like the old 737 series and even Boeing designed their checklist and placed it on the pilots' control wheel. It didn't cover the full gambit pre-flight etc but mainly the essentials.
And suddenly up comes a new concept of area of responsibility and don't you touch that switch because that is MY switch and I'll dobya. And now we are in the era of silent checklists where no one knows if the bloke next to you is sleeping on the job or humming a silent checklist to himself like Winnie the Pooh hums when he is thinking.
That's what I call technical progress.
And talking about areas of responsibility. Read about the A310 that crashed in Russia when the captain apparently pushed open one throttle during the landing run while simultaneously applying reverse on the other engine.
Seems criticism was levelled at the first officer (deceased) for not cutting the power to the high power forward thrust engine. The CVR heard the captain calling for both engines to be cut when it was apparent a tragedy was on the cards. Well the cards were right - but then I wondered if the F/O was confused about whose area of responsibity was the fuel shut off levers (start levers in the Boeing) - his or the captains and did that depend on whether the aircraft was stopped or taxiing? Areas of responsibilities are fine but when the chips are down with a vengeance and death stares you in the face, memories can grind to a stop, leaving vital airmanship drills ignored.