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Old 15th May 2011, 18:43
  #1403 (permalink)  
PJ2
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: BC
Age: 76
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Lemurian;

Thank you for calculating the probable crew relief times for the flight. Your numbers are what I would also have expected.

For further understanding I would like to comment/expand upon your points. My comments are in blue:

Lemurian wrote:

"Among the CRM / Human factors that the investigators are going to concentrate on, a few seem quite important :
- The accident happened very soon after the crew relief, at one of the worst times for vigilance..."

Could I ask you to clarify what you mean by "worst times for vigilance"? In my experience, crew-changeover time is (and should be) a routine matter providing thorough briefings are done. I'm interested in the point, especially as it has been placed under the notion of "human factors" - merci.

"- The AF procedures don't allow LHS qualifications for the F/Os."

Yes, understand - the procedures I am familiar with are the same, except perhaps that for the Relief Pilot position, AF uses First Officers who are licensed to sit in the RHS? Regardless, at some point, the F/Os doing the relief for one or the other two crew members will have to sit in the LHS but this would only be in cruise flight. By your statement I believe you mean that F/O's are not allowed to sit in the LHS for takeoff or landing, and that is the way I am familiar with. The Relief Pilot does not sit in either the LHS or RHS until the aircraft is in the Cruise phase of flight...that would be top-of-climb to top-of-descent.

"That means that the captain must be at his LHS for T/O and LDG. Which makes him take in 99% of the flights the middle slot."

No, not necessarily because crew breaks don't begin until reaching cruise, if I understood your note. In my experience, the RP almost always was given the first break and the landing pilot the last break, but that was just one of the more common ways of arranging breaks. Often I would take the middle break as it was the quietest in terms of cabin service and lighting but there was no real pattern. That said, in my view it would be a bit unusual for the captain to take the first break and I too believe he was on middle break.

"The fact that his body was recovered, and not the other two seem to confirm that fact."

Yes, I agree.

- In all certainty, the operation of this flight was performed by a senior F/O seating on the RHS with command functions and a junior F/O seating on the LHS with basic radio-com and navigation duties, along with some minor engineering duties.
Agree.

"IMVHO, we are very far from an optimum use of the flight deck crew's capability as the PF/PM duties are made difficult because of that task distribution : ECAM actions from the LHS are not that obvious and in many cases, there is a risk for the RHS pilot to lose his main flight instrument panels."

Agree. However, it works 99.9% of the time so the "approach to risk" is satisfied by the data. Whether it is justified is an entirely different question, and is the question which you have asked.

"- Still IMVHO, the risk of locking the captain out of the flight deck, for security reasons is immense. Maybe there's a way around it."
I believe the final descent would have been very turbulent, bordering on violent movements. Obtaining access to the flight deck would be near impossible if using the usual means, (staying away from describing).

Thanks again Lemurian.
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