Originally Posted by
Aluminium shuffler
As per my earlier post, we yet again see the Americans turning this into a peeing contest of how their rules are better and the rest of the world should bow to them. The transition altitude was utterly irrelevant to this incident, as is the debate surrounding it. Two pilots paid insufficient attention to their clearance, and even less to what they set on their MCP. They then levelled off at a stupidly low altitude 2500' below the MSA, showing a stunning lack of awareness of the terrain around them. They were cleared to FL200. They could have changed their altimeter settings at 2000', 5000', 10000', 18000' and still not have had an issue. There is a smokescreen constructed around a lack of attention to clearances, MCP operation and chart details, and evidently there was no briefing or cross checking as both pilots made the error together without any idea about the impending CFIT. Stop turning this into a US vs the world bragging match.
The US has more than double the number of a/c than the rest of the world COMBINED. Just saying....