The A/T and G/S issues are almost red herrings. The A/T was doing exactly what it had been commanded to do. (if it was in FLCH.)
Can the same be said for the crew?
I fly the 777. Let me say that again - I fly the 777. It doesn't fly me.
On approach when the flaps are out of 'UP' my hands are on the thrust levers. They only leave there to make MCP changes. As most pilots would know, many times you have to override the T'Ls (eg in gusty conditions - although bugging up can fix that) to ensure they provide the commanded speed. More often for a decaying speed than for an increasing speed.
The 'issues' of automatics are not issues for anyone who does the job they have been employed to do - fly the jet. Yes they can catch you out by commanding an undesired outcome - which is really due to lack of knowledge or understanding of the system, not because the automatics did something they weren't designed to do.
On approach a pilot is controlling configuration, attitude and speed to provide or ensure the correct flightpath. And among a million other things that means guarding and watching the thrust levers and commanded thrust. If the thrust and speed isn't being controlled then a pilot isn't flying the jet. The jet is flying them. The 'trap' of FLCH (and yes it is, although one must question why it was even being used at that stage of the approach) should not happen to somebody who is doing their job of flying the jet - ie ensuring the T/Ls are giving the correct thrust setting for the desired speed.
If a pilot can't fly a close to 3 degree approach in CAVOK conditions with light winds without a G/S then they shouldn't be flying a jet. That doesn't mean hand-flying (although they should be able to do it) but simply using the automatics to do it. There are enough ways to utilise the FMC to provide vertical path guidance that even a pilot with a poor external judgement of flightpath can use the system to show them where they are.
And, more importantly, if a pilot can't recognise and acknowledge that on a particular occasion due to whatever reasons (ATC, late configuring etc) they aren't on the correct profile and need to give it away for another try (it's happened to everyone) then they shouldn't be flying a jet.
So, if what has been reported so far is accurate, were these guys doing what they have been paid to do - fly the jet?
Last edited by ramius315; 10th Jul 2013 at 23:32.