Originally Posted by
syseng68k
You could argue that allowing the ins to be reset when the a/c was not on the ground was a system design failure. Even if you could reset with wings level in flight, all you have then is an attitude and perhaps vector reference and not an ins.
Well, that particular aircraft was a 737 Classic, so implementing and retrofitting that kind of lockout would be a significant headache. I can't believe that the restriction on resetting wasn't mentioned in the manual, to be honest!
Some of this kit is just bad by design, but that issue was discussed at length in the AF447 thread with no concensus, fwir :-)...
I wouldn't go so far as to say it was "bad" - as long as it's used correctly, which means thorough training - and maintained correctly, which this aircraft was not. There's a reason Adam Air's operations certificate was withdrawn not too long afterwards.
Of course, AF447 was an Airbus - which tends to bring a whole lot of extra unnecessary baggage to the conversation...