Originally Posted by
bubbers44
Flying my B757 I knew exactly what the FO was doing every second. When he would tell me the spastic approach was turbulence I knew it wasn't because the yoke told me what it was told to do.
In the Birgenair 301 accident (a B757), the F/O in the RHS had the yoke in front of him, saw his Captain* was pulling back in the face of stall and felt unable to do anything. The second F/O in the jumpseat called out "ADI!" several times, but the Captain did not respond.
Given that this was the case, the idea that the PNF in AF447 needed a connected yoke or stick to figure out what was going on is thrown into considerable doubt. If a non-flying pilot lacks the confidence to take command when he or she spots something amiss, you could have a flashing light and klaxon mounted in front of them and it may not make any difference.
* - The Captain in this case was a Turkish Air Force veteran...