He stepped on the Rudder and redefined Va

[AirRabbit]

tdracer – Please accept my compliments for a well worded and very well positioned post.

There are some here who are somewhat more knowledgeable about some things whereas others may not be – and that’s simply a fact of life. Throwing insults at peopole or organizations just because the work they do may not be understood or appreciated – is the height of ignorance spiced with laziness. Thanks for bringing a level head to the table.

As I’ve been trying to convince some here, this accident was NOT caused by the wingtip vortices generated by the preceding JAL747. Yes, that preceding airplane did generate wingtip vortices – and yes, AA587 encountered both of them. The first encounter was handled professionally and rather easily by the pilot flying (the F/O) and his response was precisely what he was taught. However, the second encounter was not handled well at all … and it was contrary to what he had been trained to do. He was trained - and he did perform correctly … the first time. The question should be, why did he do almost the opposite of what he had just done very successfully?

Additionally, there are some here who stubbornly hold to the concept that the rudder displacements – clearly seen on the FDR – were a result of the vortex encounter – not rudder pedal inputs. HOWEVER, as I’ve also been trying to convey to these folks, the rudder was displaced by the pilot flying – and done deliberately (and could easily be described as a “panic” response – which is what I believe caused him to respond so distinctively different from the way he had just responded to exactly the same kind of stimulus) all of which were excessive, and most of which were at - or beyond - the control limits … and reversed each of those inputs at least 5 times in a 7 second period. And, before those same naysayers jump on this issue claiming that rudder pedal position is not an FDR parameter – YES IT IS. While it wasn’t originally installed on the A300-600 at construction, American DID install a modification (to be in compliance with the requirement that was to soon become effective) that recorded the control wheel, control column, and rudder pedal positions on the FDR. And NO, these are not back-driven controls – and that is the reason for the requirement for the completing the FAA-mandated modification … to be able to record those control position inputs as well as the resulting control surface positions. The FDR clearly shows that the rudder pedals were used to command the rudder surface position. In fact, the NTSB had produced an animation of the FDR readouts showing the cockpit controller positions (column, wheel, and pedal) as well as rudder position with superimposed markers showing the relevant control limitations that adjusted as airspeed increased. I used to have a copy of that animation but I don’t have it with me. Perhaps some here may have or know how to acquire that animation – it shows what happened quite clearly ... and it is quite sobering.

As many have said here … I, too, get no satisfaction out of criticizing another aviator – but facts are facts – and we can choose to ignore them or examine them. Personally, I’d prefer to examine them and learn, if we can, why a well-trained aviator could become so easily panicked as to do what this well trained and otherwise competent aviator did.

Sure, we can criticize training programs ... and simulators ... and instructors all day – but unless we know the facts – such criticisms are simply howling at the moon – a lot of noise, drawing some attention, and accomplishing nothing.