Look folks, this forum is opinions only, not final reports. It's well known I will be the first to robustly defend professionals doing their job. There does come a time when the excuses don't really work anymore. We have:
Ask any sim instructor how many times he’s seen a crew distracted so that the aircraft’s flight path is not being properly monitored. I think you will find that it happens frequently when workload is high or something out of the ordinary is happening. The only difference with the Turkish flight was that they had one problem too many on that fateful day.
Like- they had one problem too many- one problem! A minor apparent high approach that got back in the numbers is not a problem. So how are some of you going to excuse flying a serviceable 737 into the ground? Because the RA was down?
Our task here is to feel for an answer. Sometimes a crew come out as unable to alter the course of events. Sometimes we have to accept there are times where the action or inaction of a crew directly or indirectly causes an accident. One could deduce that the failure of the RA and A/T movements 'caused' the accident. One could deduce that because a pilot on final approach did not have a simple thing like a hand on the thrust levers and an elementary ability to scan basic flight instruments, they lost it. How can you blame the system when basic airmanship was entirely absent? So the thrust levers closed. Systems sometimes seemingly misbehave. Hands should be on controls and thrust levers. Pilots have no right to 'rely' on automatics. Maybe its a generation thing, but whenever the system doesn't behave as I want it to, I don't sit there asking why- I hit the disengage button straight away and get back to a human controlling. Younger guys tend to sit there asking 'what's it doing now?'. Like when we once had a full-on TCAS Resolution Advisory. He looks at me for guidance asking 'shall we?' With an alt busting Learjet 400' below us!
The evidence is out. A flyable plane ran out of air. The 'system' is picking up the blame here. The system is just an aid. When the 'aid' is accused of causing the accident, it's absurd. It hurts, but I am prepared to admit the cause was the human element. You can defend and defend, but nobody can deny the simple fact that pilots flew a perfectly flyable plane into the ground. I'm sorry if some of you don't like the words, and abusing me will not help. I'm sorry if it steps on nationalistic toes, that's irrelelvant.
And I am not a Moderator- how does anybody know my posts don't get removed just as much as theirs (they do)?