I know its unlikely, but that should not be an excuse for sleeping, no power nap or meditation. Its not a regular office.
For once I disagree with u Jimmy. I dont know the kind of operations you are currently involved in. But when you do an midnight turnaround from an subcontinental destination back to the sandpit,
fatigue catches up with you and an 20-30 minute nap on an 4.5 hour sector wouldnt affect the safety or operation of the aircraft. As long as the other crew member gives his consent to the rest. Its a common happening especially in the A6 Registered Medium Haul Routes.
Courtesy: Our Ridiculous Roster
But what I do agree is when the crew involved is the Pilot Flying then he
must not be sleeping until the last minute as the body and mind will take some
time to return to active duty. The rest usually applies to PNF or PM.
If you put the wrong height / speed values, VNAV can very easily put you in trouble. The best way would be to do a DME / Height cross-check throughout the descent.
Agreed ! But if you end up programming the FMGS with wrong input, then
the discussion proceeds in an all new direction. But as of now it seems there
isint any FMGS programming issues on that ill fated aircraft.