Going to draw some flak here I know, but I have a couple of questions for you guys.
FYI, I am a just a lesser human being (a concerned SLF) but I believe I have a right to expect that aircraft manufacturers and airline operators ensure that I can travel from A to B safely and with confidence.
So here we go:
1.If the AP/AT systems on an A330 are designed to disengage when they encounter a situation which they cannot handle, and immediately hand over control to the pilots in the 'driving' seats, why are the pilots not provided with a clear reason, or at least a good indication, as to why the AP/AT disengaged in the first place?
2.Are the automated systems on this aircraft, or on any other commercial passenger aircraft, capable of detecting a potentially dangerous TS storm system, and of warning the pilots of their aircraft's proximity to the same?
If not, why not?
3.Has the logic of initiating automated multiple audio/visual alarms simultaneously in the cockpit of an aircraft in flight and in a critical situation, and the phsycological effect of this on the pilots in that situation, ever been thoroughly studied and investigated?
If not, why not?
Despite the recovery of the CVR/FDR, the fact is that nobody will ever really know the cause of this accident. CVR/FDR will provide clues but, as with so many serious aircraft accidents, nobody will ever know for sure what really happened here.
But I would suggest that the interface between aircraft automation and consequent human reaction to that automation, played a large part in this particular tragedy.
'Nuff said...