Originally Posted by
RAT 5
Amongst other things, LNAV won't arm with the FD off. Ask me how I know ......
But that can be fixed.
The only problem is you risk being flayed alive at some airlines if you dare to switch off the flight director for whatever reason.
That's because those air;liens never bothered to train their crews in raw piloting skills, and when some enthusiastic adventurous pilots try it on the line and make G/A's due to unstable approaches the bean counters and nervous CP's step in and ban it. As trainers we are always taught to find the root cause of a problem and start the treatment/cure there. Here he root cause is lack of skill & training. Treatment? a sticky plaster = FD + AT. Root cause still exists and is a latent ticking volcano. Every few years it spews out some ash & fumes. Once in a while it barks and shoots some dragon's fire; one day it really lets go. The same is true with minor incidents, major incidents, and a crash. The signs have been there all along.
You said it...none of us should be pilots because we get to wear uniforms that say we are or can do what we're told and trained to in order to get an aircraft from A - B. Hopefully at one time you had the chance to fly because you wanted to, because it was not work, pay or a responsibility. It is exactly that which has for the most disappeared from airline flying. And so, how does one expect a pilot to truly be an aviator when it is only job and not a true skill and talent. My heart is with the families of all those that lost a loved one. It should never have happened. Stop training people to manage aircraft and put the pilots back in charge. Or keep letting this happen and blindly continue down this road. What the percentage of incidents and accident lately that are mechanical vs pilot error.
RIP