I believe that if we continue to insist that, as an industry, we should be “depending on technology” to get every group of incompletely or incompetently trained pilots, some of whom, apparently, at least at times, place “cast hierarchy” above competency (which has apparently resulted in serious incidents or accidents), we are going to continue to see, and perhaps see an increase in, the occurrences of this kind of “what the @#$% were they thinking” questioning … after the fact. I was under the impression quite some time ago, that we humans finally admitted that technology certainly aids, but does not, cannot, replace human thinking and the application of human recognition and logic. Sometimes I am convinced that we have, perhaps conveniently, forgotten the fact that these so-called “automatic” systems do not think and they do not plan … they do not predict or anticipate the future … they ONLY compare the specific existing status against what a human has set as a very specific and limited scope of a desired outcome. The result is then that these automatic systems attempt to use the range of pre-set (i.e., programmed) capabilities to achieve what was set by that human ... regardless of what happens during the interim.
Of course, these systems perform these comparisons and executions at a rate that is beyond (sometimes well beyond) the range of human capability … but these “systems” do not understand (are not capable of understanding) the ultimate goal of that particular flight crew member. And before anyone becomes offended or thinks I am being insensitive, let me add that I am not advocating the elimination of “cast hierarchy” in those instances where it is tradition or an issue of national pride … far from it … BUT … we MUST recognize that personal belief preferences are not always conducive to the safe and productive operation of at least some technology advancements – particularly in those cases where mismanagement, or incomplete or inaccurate management of those systems can lead to kinds of tragedies we have witnessed recently – and they seem to be occurring at an increasing rate.
However, because it is not likely that an international aviation regulation would be effective in eliminating such “hierarchical cast preferences,” it may be that such a position may have a much better chance of being accomplished through the airplane or airplane system manufacturers. This would require something like these manufacturers refusing to stand behind the equipment they provide when the practice of any such “hierarchical cast preferences” result in the overdependence on such systems and cause, or contribute to, accidents or incidents like those we’ve seen recently. Will this work? Maybe. However, such an action should clearly bring these concerns to the attention of those cultures that embody such “class recognition and/or reverence” that has been seen to raise its presence in airplane cockpits - at least, at times, resulting in tragic consequences.