PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - He stepped on the Rudder and redefined Va
Old 26th Sep 2013, 21:38
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AirRabbit
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Southeast USA
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A view from history...

During the last 10 days of 2006 through the first 8 or 10 days of 2007, there was an extremely "inspired" (some might use the descriptive terms "emotional," "heated," or "impassioned") discussion on this very subject – and, as my memory serves, all of the points of view raised here were taken into consideration at that time – and I would presume would remain essentially the same today. Therefore, I see no particular advantage in attempting to repeat the rather lengthy posts I made during that time in this forum’s history. Suffice it to say that the F/O at the controls of that ill-fated flight made control inputs that no one can deny. Of course the speculation will continue as to the cause – poor airplane design – poor pilot training – an absence of knowledge of airplane certification processes – belief that some airplane manufacturers are more interested in covering “their 6” than speaking the truth – and on and on and on. I’m not sure of what kind of archives may or may not exist on this forum … but it might be worthwhile having those on this forum today read what was said during that 20-day period almost 7 years ago. Since that time, I have seen some major training adjustments and some significant changes in the pilot population having a much better understanding of the terms AND what those terms mean. However, there are some who will refuse to spend the time to read AND understand, believing that simply reading the material or relying on their own knowledge and experience will be sufficient. It’s those persons I would prefer to NOT fly with, thank you. We go through the process of accident investigation, not to fix blame, but to fix problems … when and where they may be found. If we get to the point that blame and consequences are more important than finding out what went wrong and attempting to find ways to prevent the same thing from happening again – I will feel as though the description of “professional pilots” will have to be changed simply to “airplane operators” – with no adjective included. That, to me, will be a dark day for all of us!
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