The Accident & RNAV Approaches
There are many CRM points to take from this report. Situational Awareness, due to the lack of knowledge of an RNAV procedure for RW30. Decision making, FL30 landing with a tailwind on a rain soaked runway close to max landing weight on the -800. Advocacy, Inquiry, Anticipation…you name it.
Yes, the crew got it wrong on the night. All the holes lined up, but spare a thought. These guys have relived the horror over and over again. Maybe we should all just learn from it rather than repeatedly kick the **** out of them? The report is very well written and a great learning tool.
As for some comments that an ILS is easier. Well, it might be. However an RNAV approach using VNAV for vertical guidance isn't exactly Chuck Yeager stuff. This isn't a slight at the crew in question whom, with their level of combined experience, would probably admit so too. Yes, more can go 'wrong' than with a standard ILS, however a timely brief covering the contingencies should keep everyone in the loop. It just requires a little more thought beforehand. And on this flight, there would have been time for that.