Graybeard said:
Without the FDR to bring in a surprise, the majority of a civil jury (US law) would conclude that Thales, Airbus and Air France share in the negligence that allowed this fleet to contine after five serious incidents caused by icing of obsolescent pitot tubes. I don't see why anyone would try to thwart recovery of the FDR. The evidence from it could hardly be more damning.
GB
Statistically, A330's are good safe airplanes. It's just that we who desire that trend to continue, wish for meaningful successful mods to the factors responsible for this tragedy. And we are just a rumor board, NOT an investigative body. We have only skimpy info available to us; therefore any speculation by us here is strictly personal opinion only.
Graybeard, I'm not sure that negligence is the right word. Industry wide "Overconfidence in automation" is the term I would use, and is the non-criminal culprit that I suspect. Whether that be an operational training attitude, or a design issue (I can't know that, I've never flown the A330 or a FBW aircraft) or a combination of a whole lot of things (factors), the fact is that a problem likely exists, and all parties appear to me to be doing something about it. Did the past fixes work? Doesn't look like it.
I'm sure its most likely the crew was current and qualified. But what about being able to fly partial panel, at night, in weather, with nothing but the whisky compass and a flashlight in your teeth? Could you set say 8x% N1 and make a gradual 180 on the Whiskey compass with no attitude, or just using the IRU true heading in rough weather? I don't know if it can be done....
We never really train for that one do we? Because, before now, it was believed it was unlikely to ever happen. But by the same token, for a long time, we never believed volcanos could take out all four engines, and before that we never believed in a thing called microbursts after a pilot made a so-called "bad" landing.
Right?
My humble opinion is that simulators are marvelous training devices, but they are no substitute for hand flying the climb and descent and hand flying a manual landing on a daily basis in the actual aircraft far away from the "Magic Kingdom" (the sim.) Without practice in this art of manual flying (occasionally all the way up to altitude and then S&L for a few minutes.) crews don't stand a chance when "Otto" gives up at the worst possible time.
There's only one man we can turn to in an uncertain situation like this. A good Union Man. President Obama was wise indeed, to appoint the former head of the Air Line Pilots Association to head the FAA.
I would call on the very-capable, just appointed, FAA Administrator: Captain Randy Babbit, to review the over-reliance/distraction with automation that crews now face, and make sweeping changes to the industry in this regard.
Fraternally,
Captain Crunch
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