I don't know what happened and am not speculating, but the thought occurred to me that if a reverser deployed at or around rotation, or at least after V1, there would be very little time to recover, if recovery is indeed possible at all.
Such an instance might be an exception to the 'go' decision after V1 where the pilot considers the aircraft incapable of flight.
A deployed reverser would possibly account for the erratic flight path at Madrid and the loss of control.
Again, this is an idle thought and I have no evidence that it pertains to the Madrid accident.
On another topic, even though MD-8x engines are near centerline, the yaw caused by asymmetrical thrust is exacerbated by the aft moment of the engines. The leverage is probably greater than an outboard engine on a four engine aircraft. As on the Lear mentioned earlier, you can't be too judicious with the application of rudder. It takes a full foot down, and conscious holding of that foot to the degree necessary to maintain track.
We used to deploy reversers in flight on the DC-8, though I never met anyone who liked doing it. The 8 had no inflight speed brakes.
Last edited by BenThere; 21st Aug 2008 at 14:50.