Originally Posted by
bubbers44
DW, so you think the way the FO's handled the situation was correct and a fully qualified captain in the cockpit is not necessary?
That's not what I said at all! I said that the senior F/O seemed to have more of a clue what was going on, but only intervened verbally until the Captain arrived. I also said that the way the Captain performed the handover was an example of poor CRM, because he did not explicitly brief the F/Os on who would be acting as relief pilot, nor did he provide the senior F/O with any boundaries at which he could take control (which, according to Interim 3, should have been standard AF procedure).
What is necessary in the flight deck is at least one competent pilot, preferably two. Rank can sometimes be immaterial - remember Palm 90, where the F/O was clearly the more qualified and switched-on pilot of the two, but did not feel he could override his Captain.
What fully qualified captain would hold the controls all the way back for 3 and a half minutes?
The Captain of Birgenair 301 and the Captain of ColganAir 3407 for starters.