Bloggs, thanks for this report. I have seen this problems in simulators. It is very easy in a simulator to pressure a crew into many problems, as I have control, as an instructor over the weather. I have seen again and again the inability of the crew to even look at the groundspeed, notice the wind and know the appropriate descend rate to stay on profile or to know if they are going to descend in time. This seems to be these days a knowledge only few knows. If you read my post, according to my estimate there is a 8/10 chance, that you are also very weak in planning a descend and also your scanning ability of instruments.
May be there is time to put pressure on training departments. Instead of paperwork audit why there is no practical audit of the training techniques in the sims by somebody competent? If the training departments need to "loose some face" so be it. It is better than loosing passengers.
Thanks Kulverstukas for your report. I think it further stresses the point, that captain was not comfortable in manual flying skills. If the report is true, he was overwhelmed and in tunnel vission. His sensory system could not even handle more info, such as being able to check a set go around altitude.
I am not making my post to make pilots feel bad. I am just stating there is an very easy solution to all of this. It is called a competent training. But how can a bad training department find out they are bad, if they have not encountered in their life good training in the past?
I was in a small flight school the other day watching instrument training in a cheap fixed simulator. It was so refreshing to see the young instructor teaching properly an instrument scan.
I guess we need a help as an industry. There must be some experienced manager, not even related to aviation, who could, based on experienced advise from capable pilots somehow overhaul the system. It is so obvious to me, that the fix would not cost the airlines more money, as they are spending them on incompetent training anyway.
But the non-flying management does not understand the problem, because the incompetent training department is not going to come to them and say they need help.
I am a captain. I do not like to be a passenger on aircraft. I know what my happen should the crew be put into a situation where manual flying competence and good airmanship is needed.
May be I need to by myself a book of "How to loose a fear of flying as a passenger" instead of trying my Don Quijote effort of overhauling the system.
And pilots are not stupid. They improve quite rapidly, if they are exposed to proper training, which is unfortunately almost non existent in airline establishment.