Originally Posted by
Organfreak
inrequentflyer789:
The story of an previously unknown abnormal state of the rudder actuator under specific temperature conditions? Is this comparable?
-Member of The Gretchenfrage Fan Club
I was thinking of the 737 LOCs that were actually "lost control", or failure to take control (after automatics fail) of otherwise flyable a/c, not "controls failed".
Say: VP-BKO, TC-JGE, ET-ANB, PK-KKW, OB-1809P, SU-ZCF, VT-EGD
I think I've eliminated cfit and mechanical failure as direct cause from that list.
But the point is not the list, the point is that pilots lose control of 737s as well as A320s, in neither case does it necessarily mean the plane has a bad control system.
Pilots have been losing control of planes for as long as there have been planes, and probably will carry on doing so for as long as there are pilots. And then autopilots will lose control instead (no, I'm not a fan of pilotless either).
Comparing accident rates type to type, competing or old to new, simply does not show fbw as making things worse.
I don't think it shows it making it any better either (newer a/c tend to have better record, fbw or not) - despite all the protections. I don't think that shows anything more than that as a species we're really good at finding new ways to screw up when old ones are closed off...