Originally Posted by
Sunfish
It is alleged here that Jetstar is are using non standard SOP's (not approved by Airbus). It also sounds like the flight operations management is seriously unstable. Where are you CASA?
I've flown Airbus for over 20 years. The aircraft procedures were in constant evolution. We were taught at the early stages to fly the aircraft as you would say a Boeing 727. So coming around the corner, high on slope, guess what? There was no "Airbus" procedure for intercept from above. You actually had a number of intuitive options or common sense procedural options.
Easiest option being, turn off the FD's, fly the aircraft onto the ILS and reinstate the automatics. If I did that today I'd be labelled a cowboy but that said, I do have the skills to swing from different modes of automation without the confusion plaguing the children of the magenta line ( which can actually be an old Boeing guy on an Airbus ).
In this instance, a decade later Airbus, came up with a cumbersome intercept from above procedure that sadly, many pilots are still making a mess off- set the alt above current, pannickly pull ALT thinking they'll idle onto the G/S but vrrrooom up comes the power and away we go. Funnily enough Sunfish, I can recover that situation within 2s from a disorientated PF but I guess that's a non-standard SOP or non- approved Airbus technique! Now I'm potentially in the situation of a high energy GA, which again has no SOP nor Airbus approved technique and just for emphasis, Airbus has had three + hull losses in high energy Go Arounds. I could go on about this but let's just say, even Airbus has decided that the old Ansett techniques of training from basic jet ( we started on Links ) and building automation through the course delivers a pilot product who is less vulnerable to mode confusions that you can not write a procedure for.
Procedures evolved from crashes or near crashes, all the while new software turns up without explanation.
People ( like you in you ) want a procedure written for everything. Because its a lot easier than producing rounded and experienced aviators. Then these same people who bureaucratize flying to the extent elemental skills and airmanship are second fiddle to cumbersome manuals, have big opinions on disasters such as AF.