Originally Posted by Adlerdriver

I think it's safe to say that use of CRM principles throughout the industry have effectively squashed this stereotypical captain (small c). Culture issues in some countries may still come into play at times. However, US airlines have been pretty successful in removing the threat of the over-bearing "grey beard captain" with invincibility issues.

The experience level of the crew involved in AF 447 may be great on paper and more than some might assume, however, results speak for themselves. The introduction of the NWA 6231 accident into the discussion, IMO, really does nothing to further this theory that either situation would have or should have overwhelmed a competent crew. Mr. Langeweische may beat up on pilots and the profession in general and have little standing to do so. However, trying to build either of these accidents into insurmountable events that no one would be expected to handle in an effort to defend our industry from his criticism is misguided.

One of the basic tenants of aircraft operation is the use of known pitch and power settings. Pitot static malfunctions can create confusion but only if they are viewed as a singular event with no knowledge of events leading to them. An aircraft in level flight holding a stable airspeed at FL350 doesn't just start to overspeed or stall spontaneously. The same goes for a 727 climbing at a fixed power setting with a normal pitch attitude and no indications of an unusual attitude.

If these crews were as experienced as is being claimed, there would have been a better analysis of the situation, never mind the lack of basic checklist discipline resulting in the 727 pitot heat being left off. 727s don't climb like a fighter while accelerating and A330s can't have full aft stick inputs while descending in a nose high attitude. Putting their aircraft in an unrecoverable situation because erroneous indications aren't recognized doesn't strike me as the actions of truly experienced crews, regardless of how their resume reads.