There's been much discussion on the fact that there were 3 people in the cockpit. I think we'll have to wait and see exactly what each one was 'assigned' to before ANY assumptions can be made. After the report comes out, then you all can go ahead and speculate all you want.
As an aside, the airline I was with required 25 (as I recall) hours observer time before you touched anything. THEN you went on a line check with a Flight Manager. THEN you were turned loose. Of course every airline is different.
Last edited by DC-ATE; 27th February 2009 at 19:29.