Confusing Airmanship With Automation?
I read the article about the A340 tail strike and overrun (see, “Absence of Reasonableness”). Had my teeth not been fixed in firmly, they would have fallen out.
Retired from airline flying for 20 years, I am now “out of the loop,” in my dotage and in any case have always tried very hard not to be critical of others on the premise that “there but for the grace of God go I.” And I have never flown a “glass” cockpit.
Having said that, and on the basis of your abridged version of the full Emirates A340 accident report, I wonder if many airline crews are now getting completely mesmerized by all the electronic goodies available to them, and forgetting the big picture, basic airmanship elements of the operation?
I flew the 747 classic for 12 years, in command on short-, medium- and ultralong-haul flights. Takeoff weights ranged from 220 to 377 tons…
