Originally Posted by Pugilistic Animus
…how did the plane fail them when they were doing a maneuver outside of certification? I think their training in wake encounter recovery failed them i feel bad for the flight crew and I don't really blame them as the copilot was simply doing what he was taught ...
With all due respect, sincerely meant, I’m not at all sure that the Wake Turbulence training they received was insufficient or even wrong. Recall that the tail was twisted off the airplane due to the F/O’s indiscriminate use of rapid rudder and wheel control inputs to the stops and just as rapid reversals of both controllers on repeated occasions … BUT … that was the SECOND vortex encounter. The FIRST encounter was transitioned without incident – by the same F/O, doing exactly what he had been trained to do – essentially rely on the inherent stability of transport category airplanes, aided ever so slightly by very minor control wheel inputs to aid or hasten return to wings-level. In fact the rudder controls were barely moved and the rudder surface was barely displaced.