Air france pilots getting the blame

[densoo]

I would have to disagree. You only need one Captain, the person that makes the final decisions regarding the flight.

You can only have one PIC but there can and should be a relief captain on segments requiring an IRO.

 

[imacdog]

Your assumptions about FO's and CA's regarding deviating around wx are generalizations. Saving fuel comes a distant third to safety and comfort. You must fly boxes.

Trust me there are captains out there that do exactly that.

 

[Ty Webb]

Trust me there are captains out there that do exactly that.

Yeah, but they were d-bags when they were FO's, too. . . .

 

[OrionFE]

You crack me up. The range of airborne radar in autotilt at default gain setting is pretty lame in the upper flight levels. Often, stuff will paint green or not at all, until you are right up on it. That is where experience comes in. . . . a healthy respect for wx, a knowledge of your equipment, and the discipline to stay restless and alert are things that take time to develop.

Your assumptions about FO's and CA's regarding deviating around wx are generalizations. Saving fuel comes a distant third to safety and comfort. You must fly boxes.

Ok, I am sorry I crack you up. I was talking more about en route weather briefing! I am sure that weather was on different satellite pictures, and in their weather brief packets. So in my mind, it should have been something the Captain and all the pilots on board were aware of prior to entering that area. I find it hard to believe the pilots have little training on how to use the weather radar?

I do fly boxes......is that a "i am better than you" statement?

It is not a generalization....I have been flying for 25 years, it is reality based on experience!

 

[Ty Webb]

Ok, I am sorry I crack you up. I was talking more about en route weather briefing! I am sure that weather was on different satellite pictures, and in their weather brief packets. So in my mind, it should have been something the Captain and all the pilots on board were aware of prior to entering that area. I find it hard to believe the pilots have little training on how to use the weather radar?

The best training, in my opinion, is to have experience using older, analog radar that doesn't have autotilt, where pilots actually have to make the adjustments manually, and therefore know what results you get when it is set properly . . . and when it is not. Same for gain. Just because someone has a type rating and watched an Archie Trammel video doesn't mean they know their radar.

I do fly boxes......is that a "i am better than you" statement?

Nope, just a guess, since your statement indicated that pax comfort wasn't part of the equation for those Captains you were describing.

 

[macdu]

Ok, I am sorry I crack you up. I was talking more about en route weather briefing! I am sure that weather was on different satellite pictures, and in their weather brief packets. So in my mind, it should have been something the Captain and all the pilots on board were aware of prior to entering that area. I find it hard to believe the pilots have little training on how to use the weather radar?

I do fly boxes......is that a "i am better than you" statement?

It is not a generalization....I have been flying for 25 years, it is reality based on experience!

You don't get to fly with ab-initio pilots do you? I do everyday I go to work. You wouldn't believe the stuff you see and hear.

 

[Guam360]

And experience

experience .....are you kidding, if one of the FO's was say, a bit older, and flew for a major airline that went bankrupt and then got hired at brand X, he may in many cases have more "experience" than the captain at that time.......

hellloooo?

 

[thor2j]

The captain of Air France only had 7000 hours Total!

 

[becket]

I'm sure there are stby. Instruments on that thing. Whatever primary airspeed fault may have occurred, it shouldn't be fatal. I hope they find a definitive mechanical reason, but it really doesn't look good for the flt crew.

 

[ultrarunner]

The standby Rosemount probes aren't immune.