Originally Posted by lederhosen
I just read 'Fly by Wire' by William Langewiesche ... Interestingly there are very few differences between his version of events written last year and the official report just published.
Makes me wonder where he got this privileged information from ... ?
Would he be the messenger from Airbus to publicize how great is the technology ?
There is not much to be proud of as the protections prevented the pilot to flare the airplane as he would have loved. For a ditching, Airbus recommends a touchdown with approximately 11 degrees of pitch and minimum aircraft vertical speed, but despite the full backstick, the protections did not allow more than 9.5 degrees and the pilots could do nothing to decrease that impressive vertical speed of 750 feet a minute.
"The Truth About the Miracle on the Hudson" would have been an inappropriate subtitle as there was certainly no miracle due to the technology, but the positive outcome is entirely due to the experience of pilots who took the only viable option.
Despite what pretend Mister Langewiesche or the BEA in the Appendix D, I believe Sully would have obtained a better touchdown on his own without the protections interfering with his experience.