Originally Posted by BBC News
The report said the pilots had been slow to notice warning signals and had reacted inadequately.
Originally Posted by THY's response
As the speed approached the required minimum controllable speed, aural and visual warning systems were activated, and the crew immediately initiated steps to recover control of the aircraft. But the prompt advancement of the thrust levers by the flight crew was initially counteracted by the autothrottle system, which retarded the thrust levers again. The crew disengaged the autothrottle and advanced the thrust levers again, but the loss of time due to this system behavior in close proximity to the ground resulted in the recovery efforts being unsuccessful. The aircraft manufacturer’s documents had previously advised the pilots of the need to advance the thrust levers immediately, but the documents had not mentioned the need to disconnect the autothrottle system during such a recovery.
Simulator tests carried out after this event show that an altitude of at least 500ft is required for B737-800 aircraft to recover from stall. According to the report, stall warning was received at an altitude of about 460ft and, as a result of the above evaluation, stall was unrecoverable.
In light of the information revealed in the accident investigation, Turkish Airlines have informed all its B737-800 pilots how the aircraft's error-prone design can result in the autothrottle using incorrect radio altimeter data. Turkish Airlines have also trained these pilots in the simulator in stall-recovery techniques at low altitudes.
Either THY or BBC is full of sh1t, or both. This regular SLF of THY would like to know which is the case.