Been said before but to turn the HDG knob long-way round to the left, past the 6 O'clock, and then have the AFGS turn shortest way to it when HDG is pulled, is illogical.
Why did the pilot turn the HDG bug to the left in the first place? Why does any pilot turn a HDG knob all the way around, past the 6o'clock? Because that's the direction he wanted to turn. When he finally realised his error and pulled, the aircraft went the other way, straight into the hills they would have (just) missed had it turned left when he belatedly pulled.
And another thing...the captain did the right thing eventually; he disconnected the AP when it wasn't doing what he wanted (it turning right instead of left). Unfortunately, he was unable to manually control the aircraft after that. Automation dependency strikes again?
Last edited by Capn Bloggs; 7th Feb 2013 at 03:45.