This applies to the Turkish crash in Amsterdam but should give food for thought as we consider approaching a rig at night in foul weather placing our trust in our trusty new world highly evolved friend "George" to drive the aircraft to near deckside.
Just how do we set up the systems for the maximum benefit with the least risk during failures?
Dutch investigators have revealed that a faulty altimeter shut down an
engine of the Turkish Airlines 737-800 that crashed last week in Amsterdam,
killing nine people. The Dutch Safety Board has issued a warning to Boeing
as a result of the first findings of the crash investigation. It was found
that the automatic throttle system, as a part of the automatic steering
system received incorrect information because of a malfunction in the left
radio altimeter. Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven, chief investigator,
reported that, while the jet was still at an altitude of 1,950 feet, the
radio altimeter reported an altitude of - 8 feet, which caused the
automatic throttle system to reduce power and configured the rest of the
systems as if the aircraft was only a few meters above the Polderbaan at
Amsterdam's Schiphol airport When the crew of the Turkish Airlines noticed
what was going on, it was already too late to intervene effectively.
Vollenhoven said the aircraft had twice before experienced problems with
its altimeter and urged operators to be vigilant with regard to the
instrument.