VinRouge, I didnt say the article placed blame. I said that its reader will assume that nothing more than pilot incompetence caused 228 deaths.
My comments were specifically aimed at the article. To me, the article paints a misleading picture. This accident is too complex to do justice in four pages - as literally tens of thousands of posts on this very forum attest.
Edited to add: thanks for your input re the military and dumbing down and an over reliance on automation . I don't necessarily agree. I think at the environment has gotten so complex that average humans are too easily overwhelmed. Colin Chapman (Lotus ) had the engineering philosophy of "add lightness". It isn't a direct comparison, but aircraft designers appear to have taken an opposite tack from Chapman when designing the human machine/automation interface. Instead of reducing inputs when abnormals occur, modern airplanes add to the "startle effect" with a myriad of inputs. All Of which demand attention and distract the pilots focus from the truly important task of aircraft control.
Edit again. I really must turn off my iPad autocorrect .
Last edited by TTex600; 19th August 2012 at 14:58.