Originally Posted by 400drvr
Human Factors. Written by a non-pilot
Aw, c'mon. You can say a lot of things about Langewiesche, and he's certainly never been an
airline pilot, but he used to earn his living as a pilot for several years, before he became successful as a writer.
but very well researched.
At least he's been talking to a lot of people and has picked up some interesting observations along the way.
For example, from his visit to the BEA:
With most of the weather still lying ahead and an anxious junior pilot at the controls, Dubois decided it was time to get some sleep. The chief French investigator, Alain Bouillard, later said to me, “If the captain had stayed in position through the Intertropical Convergence Zone, it would have delayed his sleep by no more than 15 minutes, and because of his experience, maybe the story would have ended differently. But I do not believe it was fatigue that caused him to leave. It was more like customary behavior, part of the piloting culture within Air France. And his leaving was not against the rules. Still, it is surprising. If you are responsible for the outcome, you do not go on vacation during the main event.”
And:
Bonin didn’t just ease the stick back—he hauled it back, three-fourths of the way to the stop, and then he kept on pulling. Alain Bouillard, the French investigator, equated the reaction to curling instinctively into a fetal position.