Wim fan wrote:It seems interesting that untill now it seems no media is talking about the 100 seconds between autothrottle action and pilot action that is mentioned in the boeing report.
In the item on VRT-news ysterday as well as the article referred to above, it seems as if the pilots reacted immediately. From my limited Microsoft Flight Simulator experience at 2000 ft you can still do a lot with a plane, even if you loose thrust for say 10 seconds.
Am I the only one thinking like this?
I also saw the VRT news, and it was unbelievable how a state television with almost unlimited sources (on Belgian scale off course) reported on the Safety Board's first report. I usually abstain from technical matters, but as we had so many info here from cockpit crew (thanks!), it's very obvious that the non-reaction during the 100 seconds have caused the crash, and not the faulty altitude meter.
The full statement by Pieter van Volenhoven (chairman Safety Board) was too long for full broadcast on tv, so the VRT-journo who had to cover this story had to do some cut/paste work. The journalist apparently has no knowledge of aviation in any way,
so the cut/paste was done at a very, very amateuristic way. The result was that the VRT said that the crew reacted "immediately" when the altitude meter ordered the autopilot to reduce power. The journalist from the VRT is unaware that the crew only reacted after 100 seconds and after the stall warning.
Aviation journalist Luk De Wilde, who was invited to comment, has corrected the info the journalist gave by saying that the crew reacted far too late, but he had only one minute to comment. And, off course, the VRT already concluded that Boeing's altitude meter has caused the crash.
This is the link to the VRT-news (= just click on the picture); followed by the report on the crash by "De Redactie" = VRT-online.
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie ... senrapport
VRT-online is making the same error as their colluegues from the News: thet don't mention the important 100 seconds, and they suggest that harm was done before the crew could react.
De Boeing 737 van Turkish Airlines was al aan de landing begonnen toen op 1.950 voet (zowat 600 meter) hoogte de linkse radiohoogtemeter een fout signaal doorgaf, vertelde Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven, voorzitter van de onafhankelijke Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid.
The 737 had already started the landing when, at 1.950ft, the left altitude meter transmitted a faulty signal.
Het toestel vloog op dat moment op automatische piloot. Omdat de linkse radiometer doorgaf dat de hoogte -8 voet bedroeg, werd de gashendel automatisch dichtgeschroefd. Het vermogen en de vliegsnelheid werden tot een minimum herleid, wat automatisch gebeurt net voor het vliegtuig de landingsbaan gaat raken.
The plane was on autopilot. Because the left altitude meter indicated -8ft, the power throttle was automaticly shut down. Power and speed were thus reduced to a minimum, like just it's done automaticly just before touch down.
Daardoor viel het vliegtuig helemaal stil en verloor het plots erg snel hoogte. De bemanning reageerde nog en gaf vol gas, maar toen was het te laat. Overigens is het perfect normaal dat een landing wordt uitgevoerd op automatische piloot. "Dat is een vrije keuze", zei Van Vollenhoven.
My next translation may sound ridiculous, but hey, I'm just translating...: This caused the plane to a standstill and it lost altitude very fast. The crew reacted by giving full power, but it was too late by then.
Het toestel crashte in een veld en 9 mensen kwamen om. 80 passagiers raakten gewond, van wie er nu nog 28 in het ziekenhuis liggen. Overigens blijkt uit gegevens van de zwarte doos dat er ook al eerder problemen waren met de hoogtemeter. In Turkije komt het onderzoek naar de crash in Schiphol hard aan. De Turkse pilotenvereniging vindt de uitkomst van het rapport niet bevredigend. Verschillende kranten blijven de piloten verdedigen. Eerder werd in Turkse kranten geschreven dat de verkeersleiding in Schiphol aan de basis zou liggen van de crash. De Turkse piloten werden vorige week in hun thuisland als helden begraven omdat er bij de crash maar 9 doden vielen.