mm43
The quoted conclusion is a glaring example of the incongruity (and potentially deadly results) of a human crew flying with an automatic or fbw system they do not "understand". Inherent in this unfortunate statement by a regulator (of all things) is the mirage of safety due automation.
Pilots have been caught out with a bird's nest in air intake, a mud dauber's nest in pitot, or dual failures since the "day". There is and can be no excuse for introducing advanced control systems and then making an effort to "isolate" the crew from its operation.
What is the goal of automation? Pilotless flight? Fine. Say so. With 447, it would appear that a cascade of warnings and alerts of varying criticality deluged the dark and lumpy cockpit with distracts of almost sinister veil.
THY had alot of experience to hand, but the state of the "Art" caused a disconnect at the most critical of times, (Always the case??) It would seem that the most inopportune times are populated more heavily with the breakdown in "Awareness".
Will we find out if Captain DuBois' flight was besieged with a clumsy "reversion" in Flight Laws and Manual command?? One hopes the evidence will be found. That it is easy to entertain such a thought is worrisome. Were the PF's lulled into reliance on the AP for too long? Did they allow a dangerous drift into complete trust of the systems?? Would we use computers comparable to those aboard in our most mundane business tasks? Computers cannot think, they Act. Or Not. It is the Not part that gets people in trouble when "Novelties" are not trained. The ebb and flow of flight data and control command needs a new 'seamstress'.
Wasn't THY more a flight data reads issue? Unreliable airspeed syndrome is just that. There is no real Airspeed issue at all, only (sic) the air data displayed by the sensors. In 447's case, Pitch and Power should have saved the day. Duff airspeed read has been recovered thousands of times.
Reliance of the entire Airframe on flight controls that are operated by a system that doesn't have any idea what it is doing is regrettable, and here may be a case in point. A perfectly serviceable Aircraft and its people destroyed by Human Pride, Stubborn adherence to antiquated ideas, etc.
Ice? Upset? Mechanical Malfunction/Failure ?? Let us all hope there is a more thoughtful conclusion to this accident than the laughable and pathetic conclusion made by the authority in the case of THY Amsterdam.
regards,
bear
Last edited by bearfoil; 7th Feb 2011 at 15:56.