Couldn’t agree more with SBT’s observations.
@ Mountainbear: “And that's OK with everyone because the Capt is the boss and who the hell cares what the PF is thinking? Is that really what CRM is all about?"
Yes indeed, the captain is the “boss” of the aircraft (if you feel like using the word “boss”). Despite how much some individuals like to see it, the flight deck is not a democracy. Captain holds final authority and responsibility. Get over it.
In Ryanair, where the incident took place, it is captain’s decision to abandon a take off. FO´s in Ryanair are, to my knowledge, not even trained the RTO actions. This partly explains why the FO in this particular case just closed the thrust levers and left the remainder of the RTO actions for the captain. A likely scary situation for the “arrogant” captain.
A little more on CRM: CRM is about making optimum use of all available resources i.e. equipment, procedures and people with the final goal of promoting/enhancing flight safety. An excellent concept that in recent years clearly has improved flight safety and, as a side effect, created a pleasant atmosphere in the flight deck. The concept of CRM has also resulted in a culture where inexperienced FO’s learn much faster as they are more included in the general decision making process. People progress much faster if they are not limited to “just watch and copy” practices/culture. However, IMHO, too often CRM is seen by inexperienced and over SOP-ed FO´s as “my sector, my flight, my decision(s)”. That is not how CRM works.
Any sensible captain will take into account what the FO, Cabin Crew, dispatcher, ATC (and, in some cases, even passengers), … have to say (why those who advocate CRM are so often stuck in their Capt vs. FO box and forget about the valueable info that might come from ‘ the ground’ or ‘the back’?). That is what CRM is all about : maximising your recourses and then make a sensible decision. Yet, at V1 the decision to go has been made and a take off is continued.There is no room/time to have a little chat on how save/unsave is it to continue the take off near, at or after V1. In plain English: only one person is and can be in charge.