Quoting jcjeant:-
the trim wheels are moving (but no noise as usual on other types) when trim auto move
This is an indent (indication of deflection angle) on their side
Many thanks, jcjeant, especially for the link to the very clear photograph. So information on the THS position was readily available to the pilots throughout?
As mentioned, exactly the same thing appears to have happened off Perpignan. The BEA, in that report, specifically states that none of the pilots touched the trimwheel.
One sentence in the Perpignan report troubles me a great deal, though:-
When the stall warning sounded, the Captain reacted by placing the thrust levers in the TO/GA detent and by pitching the aeroplane down, in accordance with procedures. The nose-down input was not however sufficient for the automatic compensation system to vary the position of the horizontal stabilizer, which had been progressively deflected to the pitch-up stop by this system during the deceleration.
Can you shed any light on the
'automatic compensation system' to which the BEA refers? Many people on here have been assuming that the AF447 THS went to 'full up' because of noseup inputs by the PF. But the THS at Perpignan appears to have gone to 'full up' (and stayed there) even though the pilot in that case was applying nosedown commands throughout?
Worth mentioning too that the AF447 pilot, according to the BEA,
also applied nosedown commands while they were still above 10,000 feet; but, as at Perpignan, the THS stayed at 'full up.'
So what exactly are those automatic systems designed to 'compensate' for?
I think many of us consider it likely that the pilots were at first confused as to whether the aeroplane was in a stall or a dive. Is it possible that the 'systems' were ALSO confused?