I think fireflybob sums it up nicely, training, experience, preparation and teamwork. My understanding is that a Speyer and Ziegler of Airbus, thought up these 'Golden rules' as a way of explaining away a number of air accidents, 17 A320 hull loses to date. Does Airbus think, that ten golden rules are going to cover everthing. Perhaps they should a have stated the hundred ways to get caught by automated aircraft!
Please dont think that I am against A320's or automation, I think its a brilliant aircraft, it's just in the early days it was not fully understood, and training culture and experience was a factor. The test pilots were in also in denial in the early days, I met Nick Warner at a conference in Birmingham a few months before his death test flying the A330, in which he claimed it was an aircraft without vices, during Q & A's I got the impression he was in denial about the possible weakness in the man machine interface.
(a) In the early 1990's a German television company made a documentary in association with the German Airline Pilot's Association, following the the Lufthansa Flight 2904, Warsaw, which included interviews with the chief test pilot Bernard Zeigler, this was the man who during his military career flew into cables, bringing down three gondolas and killing six people. During the interview with German Airline pilots, in which even he seemed confused about some of the flight modes. I understand that Airbus took legal action to ban this documentary, but a highly regarded professer of psychology kindly provided me with a copy on VHS a number of years ago, which was given to him by a german airline pilot. IM if you need a copy.
(a) In the 1990's there was and attempt by a top London law firm to 'Gag' a UK postgraduate psychology research student, and sieze all of his research including confidential pilot surveys, he was researching into human factors in high technology aircraft, based on pilots attitude surveys, completed by A320 pilots from three airlines. Airbus worked on the premise that the postgraduate was 'an agent' working for Boeing, which was complete rubbish, but part of the Airbus pathology at the time. Eventually Airbus backed off.
Last edited by athonite; 2nd Oct 2011 at 08:34.