Originally Posted by
Mesabah
Another factor that needs to be looked at is the way information is presented to pilots. The dangerously decreasing airspeed went unnoticed by both pilots. It's literally "SURPRISE stick shaker". I think neither pilot knew that the plane was in a stall situation, certainly not the captain. This lack off feedback from the airplane until the last second is a huge systems flaw. Something as simple as the airspeed tape blinking if the airspeed falls below a set ref speed probably would have prevented this accident.
If you need the lights to get brighter, flash, and the "*****ing Betty" to yell at you, etc in order to maintain situational awareness adequate to not crash the airplane, you are better suited for another line of work.
The systems on this airplane were adequate. This was not a systems short coming, it was entirely a pilot induced problem.
Instrument flying, lesson #1 talks about maintaining a proper scan. Letting an instrument escape from the scan is a problem. Sure, you could make it flash and remind the crew, "I am still here!!!!", but this problem should be beneath anyone acting as a professional pilot, especially with 50 people on board.