Originally Posted by
SeenItAll
Let me add another scenario. If you listen to the ATC tape, I am dumbfounded by the nonchalant transmission from AC saying that they are in the go-around. I am not sure that even then they realized what a f-up had just occurred and how close they were to disaster. At least we have the FDR. They should be able to synchronize it with the ATC tapes to see exactly when the go-around was commenced.
Dumbfounded? I
have listened, and am
not dumbfounded.
You assert that you are "... not sure that even then they realized what a f-up had just occurred and how close they were to disaster" but are also surprised they made a supposedly nonchalant transmission?
If, and this is a big 'if', it
is true that the AC759 crew were still unaware of the disaster that had just been averted, why would you expect them to be anything
other than calm? They can't be frightened by something they don't know has happened, surely? But I sincerely don't think that is going to be the case uncovered here.
As I indicated in
my earlier post (#584), it is highly likely that UAL1's calls of "Wheres this guy going?" and "He's on the Taxyway!" brought things back into focus for AC759, with fear and embarrassment in equal measure in the following seconds. The radio conversation that ensues is:
Tower: "Air canada, go-around."
AC759: "In the go-around, Air Canada 759"
"
In the go-around ..." implies that AC759 has
already begun his go-around (as you state, the NTSB will undoubtedly be able to pinpoint precisely what was done and what was said, to the fraction of a second ...). If you currently believe AC759's reply transmission as "nonchalant", would you be willing to alternately consider it might be that, having been startled by UAL1s calls, the crew realised the enormity of what was unfolding, and were now working extremely hard not to let the emotions, fear almost certainly being one of them, overwhelm their recovery from the near disaster? They were 'boxing the chimp' and hanging on to their sensibilities - try a websearch for Dr Steve Peters and 'The Chimp Paradox' if you are not familiar with the term.
Whilst AC759's go-around reply is short and crisp, I beg to differ about it being at all "nonchalant"! I believe we will eventually learn that by then the crew
did realise that a disaster had only just been averted, by the narrowest of margins, and they were desperately trying focus on recovering as calmly and professionally as they could, not making things any worse whilst they did so. Throughout the go-around and beyond, a nagging thought of "What the hell just happened?" would likely have been distracting them.
Despite the CVR loss, we are fortunate that there is still plenty of data available for the NTSB to reconstruct this serious incident, and we will learn in fine detail what went on and, hopefully, why. It seems clear that the crew of AC759 had a mental/viusal model that was disparate from what others involved could see, so it really is important to learn how and why they got there. As I declared in my earlier post,
stop with the unnecessary character-bashing and rush to judgement - it isn't seemly without all the facts to hand. The NTSB final report will give us those.
If anyone is concerned I might be biased in favour of the AC759 crew, I am happy to openly declare my position:
1. I have no connection with Air Canada, or the crew members involved, whatsoever.
2. Neither do I have any connections to any of the other crew, SFO ATC, or the investigators.
3. I fly longhaul passenger aircraft, and have 38 years of professional flying experience.
4. I have operated in and out of SFO.
Now, stop being so bloody judgemental of the AC759 crew!