DC-ATE
However, if there had not been a need to "check the alpha floor protection" in the XL aircraft, there would not have been an accident.
If you actually read the report you will see there was no
need to check the Alpha Floor
The Alpha Floor check is an Airbus Test Pilot procedure on pre-delivery flights
only. It was to be conducted in Normal Law
only, and above FL100. In Altn/Direct Law the test was meaningless...
For whatever reason, this one was conducted by a non-Test pilot, at 3000', and in a "normal aircraft" i.e. Direct Law.
Did you, in your DC-8 time, deliberately stall the aircraft, with Gear and Flaps fully deployed, and hold it into/through the stall with full aft stick, at 3000'? In a swept wing aircraft the results will be interesting
I need to re-read again, since I am not sure they
intended to be in Altn/Direct Law for the stall (although the signs are there, least of all the Stall Warning). The AoA probes seem to possibly have some bearing on the sequence of events (but maybe not the outcome).
However, I might hazard 2 quick conclusions:
- FBW is somewhat credited with at least avoiding this aerodynamic manoeuvre - when it works
- The report does quickly home in on the the root cause of the accident - manoeuvring outside a defined requirement / limitations, and the potential (unanticipated) consequences of doing so
- There is little "urgency" for the full report (despite the baying on here) since the accident appears to have little applicability to Line Ops
NoD