A couple of thoughts ...
1. The A/C knows from which point the EFB has calculated the T.O. performance, and it also knows via GPS where it is when it lines up on the runway ... it would not be too technically difficult to follow the Boeing concept of " not being in the demanded position" ( switch or geographical) and make a light/warning ???
2. I find it disgraceful that there is such obvious and legitimate confusion over the nomenclature used to describe 2 different geographical positions .. a complete bypass of imagination. This despite the facility in the Boeing OPT to check the TODA/TORA used for the calculation and therefore the option to check against NOTAMs and Runway charts ..
3. I feel tremendous sympathy for the pilots in this unfortunate situation .. we have no idea what other operational circumstances added to the confusion. Like for example 10 pages of poorly written NOTAMS which have the tendency to hide important information and highlight trivia .. I wish there was a concerted effort to by ALL agencies to help the flight deck have easy access to vital information and not overload them with poorly documented non vital info i.e. to prioritise before presentation. I am not for a second inferring there is any conspiracy to make our complex pre flight preparation more difficult, more a little understanding of what we are trying to digest.
There are many things ( weather, ETOPS/MNPS, NOTAMs, Performance,Technical, Plotting, operational and Commercial issues, fuel etc) that have to be scrutinised before any ULR flight, and due to FTL's not an excess of time to complete this important task .. We are all on the same side in the constant pursuit of Flight Safety so let us hope that the information that is presented to crews in the briefing room is as free from confusions and "gotcha's" as possible. I cannot imagine how the 4 crew felt when the engineer after his post flight inspection said .. " what happened on the T/O guys ??"
4. It is quite conceivable that the crew were unaware of any impact until they arrived in Qatar .. I would imagine though that their "fundamental orifices" were doing the "half a crown/sixpence" in the first 2 segments of the climb ..
5. I am heartened to see most people empathetic and I hope we can all learn some valuable lessons in whatever role we have to play in the safe dispatch of a commercial flight ...
I.Duke