comment:
"... don't think the third guy [Visitor-in-cockpit factor] had anything to do with the accident...."
Didn't the mishaps-pilots forget to do something?
True, maybe the VISITOR had no affect on the mishap-pilots' attention to detail during taxi-out, we don't yet know.
This
Visitor-in-Cockpit was a recent factor in a military TU-154 mishap.
For in-flight upsets, the
Visitor-in-Cockpit factor goes back to the deH86's upsets of the 1930's.
http://www.pprune.org/safety-crm-qa-...accidents.html
http://www.pprune.org/safety-crm-qa-...sekeeping.html
Just a couple of exemplars, with
Visitor-in-Cockpit listed as a factor:
Delta Flight 1141 / 31Aug88, Dallas TX, B727 takeoff crash; pilots failed to set flap/slats during taxi-out. 13 killed. \\ Distraction-- AAR pg 92, Finding #4: “Extensive non-duty related conversations and the lengthy presence of the flight attendant in the cockpit reduced the flightcrew’s vigilance in ensuring that the aircraft was prepared for flight.”
Jet Link 2733 (Continental Express) / 29Apr93, Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia (N27406), inflight upset at 1533 CDT ... near Pine Bluff Arkansas, visitor-in-cockpit (F/A). Upset in IMC, icing conditions, climbing through 17000 feet aircraft stalled, aircraft out of control (time 1533:16) -- entered inverted spin. Control regained at 5500 feet. .... Board blamed captain for failure to "maintain professional cockpit discipline, inattention to flight instruments and ice accretion." At the time of the upset, Captain with engaged in conversation with the F/A (noting snow on windscreen), and the F/O was busy with logbook duties and eating crew meal. AAR-94/02/SUM, pg 24+,
“Flightcrew Inattentiveness ... cockpit conversation ... flight attendant was consistent with a complacent and lax atmosphere ... the captain permitted the flight attendant to enter the cockpit and then engaged in casual conversation for over 4 minutes before the loss of control ... Meanwhile the first officer was making entries into the airplane’s log book, which diverted his attention from the flight instruments.... captain ... continued to talk to the flight attendant and was not attentive to his flight instruments.... Board believes ... flightcrew’s inattention ... led directly to ... failure to maintain a safe airspeed.” AAR-Sum pg 31, P.C. = “... the captain’s failure to maintain professional cockpit discipline, his consequent inattention to flight instruments and ice accretion ... improper autoflight vertical mode ...”