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Old 08-26-2017, 12:21 PM
  #15  
ptarmigan
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Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: B777 Captain
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Originally Posted by Airway View Post
Thank you for taking a stand. I have also gotten fed up with the trashing of pilots lately. More recently we saw that article about the UBS study and pilotless planes. Like you say, nobody knows how many accidents have been prevented daily around the world by pilots just doing their job.

I have followed William Langeweische for over a decade. He is one of the more talented writers in journalism. His articles are exceptionally researched and remarkably well written. I'm not talking aviation articles, his other work in Vanity Fair is impressive. I read his stuff.

Another piece he did on aviation is here, where he explains the accident chain concept quite well: (https//www.vanityfair.com/culture/2009/01/air_crash200901/amp)

... Where you also pick up subtle and not so subtle cues that he likes pilots about as much as Smisek and Lorenzo.

The problem is, and you can pick it up easily from his aviation writing, he has a very personal chip on his shoulder with professional pilots specifically. It completely tarnishes what is otherwise great journalism. He also has an over the top admiration for Bernard Ziegler, the guy behind the A320 platform, despite recognizing that the platform is no more safer than non-bus platforms due to some poor human factors design. Case in point - - AF447 could not have happened in a 777. If there is one thing you can appreciate in that article, despite the between the lines pilot bashing, is that he makes a strong case against ab initio. Not being able to understand basic aerodynamics because you learned to fly planes in an airbus sim after a few hours in a Seneca was, after the temporarily clogged thales pitot, the biggest contributor to that crash. That wasn't the only A330 thales set up that failed, hence the reason for the AD. Nobody heard about the others because they were managed properly. Ask the NWA 330 guys. They had a similar scenario. Successful outcome.

The fact is that Langeweische claims, vaguely, to have flown "commercially" to "pay the bills" (really?) and thinks that pilots are the weakest link. That's how I know he never flew professionally. Unless he had access to ASAP/FSAP data, without being an airline guy, he wouldn't know that for every accident where pilots failed, countless accidents were prevented.

We need a more vocal pilot group, more Sully's who are as articulate and can talk to the media. He does an incredible job but he's doing it without much help.

No, planes don't fly themselves. No, we aren't the weakest link. The weakest links are inadequate inexperience, poor training, and bad cockpit culture.

The safest form of technology in aviation is the kind that works with the pilots, not the kind designed to replace the pilots. Good a writer as he may be, Mr. Langeweische is too arrogant to accept that reality.
Hi. I mostly agree with all you wrote. My one exception is that these pilots had more experience and were more competent than what many have been led to believe. Check out the book, I get into those details quite a bit and several other factors that have not be discussed, really, anywhere. It is a more insidious situation than many would realize. There is another aspect as well.

I was talking with another safety professional a couple of days ago and he made a really good observation regarding the NWA 6231 accident. If you were to ask a pilot what to expect if their pitot gets clogged they can likely answer correctly, for the most part. However, if you instead say "you are flying and notice that your airspeed is increasing. Also, your flight controls are getting a lot heavier. What would you make of this situation?" Seriously, try asking fellow pilots this question.
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