999 times out of 1,000 fast hands in the cockpit are a very bad thing. In this isolated occurance, it was the correct course of action.
Absolutely right,
Has Been.Nice post.Response to uncommanded reverser deployment with yaw/buffet after V1 must be immediate.I hope that DC9 skipper had a long and happy retirement.
The discussion on possible reverser deployment is fascinating but its just not backed up by what little evidence we have.Survivor testimony(much better than eyewitness) and those who reviewed the video speak of lateral oscillation(left then right),like a falling leaf.Additionally,the unusual high nose angle fits the stall not the reverser scenario.A thrust reverser open after lift off is going to try and turn you upside down all in one direction!Also,lift off body angle would remain at 6-8 degrees.
Sevenstrokeroll's insight into the probe failure(apparently from actual experience..) and the more serious problem it was concealing(Groundshift and hence TOCW failure) is in my humble opinion,despite all the wonderful contributions,our only trump card in 70 pages.I had hoped that the refueller had seen the strobes,not the anti-coll,because this would have been powerful corroborative evidence.
Until new evidence is released,perhaps our Mad Dog contributors could give us a little insight into:
i)blue slat light and amber ART light?how visible during daylight takeoff?Do line pilots look for this picture(1 blue,1 amber) before they advance TL's for takeoff?
ii)setting TO thrust manually..assuming AT u/s..how much of a distraction to monitoring the big picture?Should be fine-tuned by sixty,but how realistic is that?For example,the new gen Boeings show commanded thrust on the dial..you just match commanded thrust to the target N1...On the older gen aircraft,you set a ballpark TL angle and then finetune which might take a bit of time.
iii)autobrake T.O position..would it arm if there was a groundshift malfunction?Is it on the same relay???