Folks,
A couple of things to inject into the discussion:
(1) Jetstar flight operations management had unilaterally changed to missed approach procedure in the company manuals ---- contrary to, and apparently in complete ignorance of the fact (also a mystery to a number of CASA FOIs) that AFM compliance is required by law, look up the reg., it is a simple one that cannot be "re-interpreted" into an inverted meaning even by the most imaginative management or official mind.
Three IS a process for varying a provision of the AFM, but Jetstar acted unilaterally.
(2) I don't care how much or how little experience you have, by the time you get a PPL, you should know that CLIMBING is part of a missed approach.
In a missed approach, everything else is secondary to getting the power up, getting the G/A attitude, and confirming the positive rate of climb.
Whether it's a hand flown or a A/P engaged G/A doesn't matter ---- the same fundamentals apply. You glue yourself to those bleeding "dials". If the automatics are not doing the job, that's what you have two hands for, one to pull the attitude up, the other to push the power up---- don't bugger about wondering "why" ---- make it happen ----- and never forget that computers are just big dumb adding machines.
Everything else can wait, gear, flaps ----- if the G/A is caused by a wind shear, your not even going to touch the gear or flaps until you are not only climbing, but clear of the shear.
And in this Jetstar incident, that didn't happen, until the terrain warning went of as the modes changed as the gear came up ---- and the crew woke up to the fact that they were just accelerating down the glideslope.
Bollocks to all the excuses, pilots have to be smart enough to not let ANYTHING distract them from from carrying out the absolute basics for survival.
A missed approach is NOT a "high stress" exercise, it's just normal operations.
If you are half a pilot, you treat every T/O as an abort, and every approach as a G/A, and count every completed T/O or landing as a bonus.
We are allowing ourselves to become so mired in bull****, the basics are being buried.
Tootle pip!!
Last edited by LeadSled; 13th Dec 2011 at 12:46.