Visibility of pf actions
Long time lurker, retired intelligence analyst. Not a pilot but I am trained to think out of the box and approach issues laterally.
I would like to take up more explicitly the suggestions that a few others have made about the visibility of PF actions with the sidestick. I do think care needs to be taken in considering this factor. Unfortunately, it perhaps has become a taboo or “jump over” issue because of unproductive AB vs Boeing arguments, and it has tended to be quickly dismissed in this forum. Similarly I do not see it picked up in explicitly in the BEA reports.
But it seems to have been a significant factor in this accident at two points, both the incident start and subsequently in the cockpit in finding a resolution
My understanding of the operation of a two person crew in aviation is that the PNF should monitor the actions of the PF and express views and act when appropriate. In this case we had a relatively inexperienced crewmember as FP and the most experienced person on type as PNF. However the PNF does not seem to have been privy to the sidestick actions of the PF, so that his checking role was stymied. Similarly the Captain when he arrived at 2:11:43 could not see the sidestick actions.
2:13:40
PF: Mais je suis ŕ fond ŕ cabrer depuis tout ŕ l’heure
Capt: Non non non ne remonte pas
The BEA is undertaking a study with psychologists and psychiatrists but I hope it gives consideration to the reactions of the PNF and Captain given the incompleteness of the information that they had regarding sidestick operation. Did they automatically tend to assume the sidestick was being handled in the way that THEY would have handled it, or did they tend to omit a focus on sidestick operation because it was not visible?
What I am getting to a need for a simple panel display so that both pilots can easily view the sidestick operation. For example, a simple color display showing one or two of the following colors as appropriate: blue (up), orange (down), red (left), green (right), white (neutral). This should inform and hopefully empower the PNF (and anyone in the 3rd seat) to the necessary degree.
A number of incidents come to mind in this connection. Of course, the availability of a yoke didn’t ultimately save EgyptAir 990 or Silkair 185. There was an earlier suicide attempt with JAL 350 (DC8) in 1982 on landing approach. I understand that in that case PNF grabbed the yoke and forced it back, reducing the crash impact and allowing the majority on board to survive. I also wonder with AirBlue 202 whether a sidestick display could have given PNF a few more seconds to realize what was happening. Visibility of sidestick actions will surely be an issue from time to time in the decades ahead.