On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 18:45:08 +0000 (UTC), (G Farris)
wrote:


In deference to the NTSB, it has been mentioned here before that, left to
their own devices, they would not have initiated the "probable cause"
reporting that the news media and most of the rest of the world zooms in
on, but would have preferred to keep their report factual. This said, the
"C" and "F" shorthand we have become accustomed to ("C" for causal and "F"
for factor) appear to favor a superficial reading and attribution of
blame.

I agree we find, at times, and almost surreal ability to put the blame on
the shoulders of the flight crew, and this latest incident is an example.
After all, one of the oft-cited criteria for assigning crew responsibility
(or "pilot error"), is the determination of whether the crew acted in
accordance with their training. It is after all unreasonable to expect the
crew to become test pilots and invent hitherto unexplored techniques in
dealing with an emergency, or to consider them at fault for not having
done so. Yet, from the information we have, this would appear to be the
standard being applied to this flight crew. Clearly, nothing in their
basic training, advanced training or type certification indicated they
could not use full rudder deflection for airplane control within
maneuvering speed.
snipped....

That is exactly what struck me when I heard the sound-bite version on
the news. Airbus did provide substantial information showing that
they warned American that there training methods with regard to rudder
control (particularly as it applies to roll correction) was flawed and
dangerous. Given the rudder control idiosyncracies of the aircraft
and the "flawed" training, it seems to me that the co-pilot should be
at least third in line for blame. It is also interesting to note that
there were several internal warnings form people within American
stating that the training was flawed and dangerous. As far as I know,
the training was not revised to reflect correct procedures prior to
the crash. When an aircraft manufacturer and the Airline itself warn
that the training is flawed, and the flawed training continues, how is
that the pilot's fault?
Rich Russell