Originally Posted by
bubbers44
Personnaly I think Dozy is one of the smart guys in this group. I think he believes as I do that it doesn't matter what aircraft you fly, if the IAS goes away just fly attitude and power.
Thanks for the support - appreciated. And I do agree with that point and always have.
300 hr pilots flying on autopilot for a thousand hours are not real pilots.
I'm less inclined to agree with that. I'm sure some come out of the cadet programme with inadequate handflying skills and aeronautical knowledge, but I'm loath to tar a large group of people with the same brush without evidence.
It's already been mentioned numerous times that the least experienced F/O was a sailplane pilot in his spare time, so you'd expect a higher degree of aeronautical savvy than average on his part.
The point I've always tried to put across is that no matter how good you are, how many hours you've logged - handflying or otherwise - and how calm you usually are under pressure, there are times when you can have a bad day at the office regardless. Being that the flight crew aren't here to answer for what happened, I think it's fair to give them the benefit of the doubt there.
Originally Posted by
TTex600
If the autopilot didn't have adequate info to fly the airplane, what makes you think the pilot had any better?
Because the pilot has the ability to solve problems dynamically in a way computers can't. It's always going to be harder at night, because you can't get a fix through the windscreen, but during the day it should be a relatively simple matter of comparing the attitude on the instruments with what can be seen outside. Sadly, the AF447 crew didn't have that option, but judging by the report, the instruments were functioning correctly through the majority of the accident sequence.
I would have second guessed from my MD80, but now I fly an Airbus and there but for the grace of God go I.
If you think the MD-80 can't throw a crew into disarray, think again:
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Originally Posted by Wikipedia (my bold)
With the anti-ice system on, the highest altitude at which the overloaded aircraft could fly - without stalling - was reduced to only 31,900 feet. The captain noticed the reduction in engine power, but he couldn't realize the source of the problem. Therefore, he started a rapid descent, as a precaution. At that time, the airspeed was already near stall speed and the autopilot had kept a nose-up attitude to maintain a constant height. When the airliner was pummeled by a sudden updraft, it finally entered a stall condition and the crew mishandled it. Confused by the unusual behaviour of the engines, due to the anti-ice system and probably the air flow disruption caused by the updraft, the captain thought he was struggling with an engine flameout and did not recognise the deep stall situation.