Airbus A320

[Wmaker]

Nice.  Been drinking?

Yep, had and have, won't change the facts at hand in anyway though.

[Puma44]

you are so right! All I have been saying, and I guess since I am not a English professor, said it the wrong way, is at what point do we put all our trust in computers and take safety out the hands of the guy in the left seat? Is anything "fool proof"? No, of course not, but I had rather trust a human to make decisions on my safety
in flight as a little black box mounted somewhere in the cockpit.
I sometimes wonder, just for argument sake, what would the computers have done in WW2 with a bomber with a missing elevator, one aileron gone and only 2 of four engines working?

Good point, ET.  No computer will ever replace human perception or judgement.

[Zimme83]

 

Good point, ET.  No computer will ever replace human perception or judgement.

Fact is that it can in most cases, pilot crashes planes a lot more when they fly by themselves compare to when they have assistance from computers. Human judgement fails all the time, especially in a stressful situation.
 Qantas flight 32 is is an example of an incident were computer systems greatly increased the pilots ability to fly the crippled plane, a non fly-by-wire plane would most likely had gone down. Good pilots assisted by good systems are the safest way of flying.

The problem is that u cannot find enough top gun pilots to fill the airliners, those real aviators are rare and airline pilots are more often those hwo can afford the training, not those who are the best qualified. Therefore reality says that u need to back the pilot up with systems because otherwise the pilots will screw up every now and then.

[Zimme83]

And im pretty sure that a lot more WW2 pilots and planes would have made it home if they had the systems a modern airliner have.

[715]

Having a single pilot locked in the cockpit seems like a serious single point failure path.  Why not mandate that the cockpit always be manned by two people?  If the pilot needs to use the restroom, then have a cabin attendant (trained on cockpit security issues like how to unlock the door) sit in there until he comes back.

[Zimme83]

That is implemented already by most airlines that didnt had that procedure prior to this acident. Most European airlines have now changed the routines so noone should be alone on flight deck at any time.

[Grendel]

I sometimes wonder, just for argument sake, what would the computers have done in WW2 with a bomber with a missing elevator, one aileron gone and only 2 of four engines working?

Many more bombers would have returned home. They would have compensated  for the damage aircraft suffered, letting the pilot concentrate more on the survival and other tasks than just struggling to keep the airplane in the sky.

[Zoney]

Many more bombers would have returned home. They would have compensated  for the damage aircraft suffered, letting the pilot concentrate more on the survival and other tasks than just struggling to keep the airplane in the sky.

Well of course!  There is no possible way the computer controlling the plane or the miles of wiring connecting it to the servos or the servos would be damaged from combat in WW2, so the plane would be happily flying along as the pilots could do "other" things.

[Zimme83]

Well of course!  There is no possible way the computer controlling the plane or the miles of wiring connecting it to the servos or the servos would be damaged from combat in WW2, so the plane would be happily flying along as the pilots could do "other" things.

Of course a lot of planes would have been to badly damage for any one or system to save them but a fly by wire system has a redudnacy far beyond what a traditional mecanical or hydraulic system can have, Qantas 32 lost 65% of its roll capacity and Flaps, slats, left alerions but was still flying w/o having the pilot fighting for it, it gives the crew ability to use their skill to solve the situation rather than just fighting for control over the aircraft.

[kvuo75]

Good point, ET.  No computer will ever replace human perception or judgement.

with that philosophy we should get rid of cat 3 autoland.

fact is, computers in many ways ARE better than people. and they will only continue to get better.

[Mace2004]

Latest reporting is that the co-pilot converted to Islam during his six month hiatus.  If true then things are going to get more interesting.

[Lusche]

Latest reporting is that the co-pilot converted to Islam during his six month hiatus.  If true then things are going to get more interesting.

There's not a single news on this in the whole media spectrum, it just comes up at a few very obscure blogs with no source whatsover.

See also: http://antiviral.gawker.com/the-evidence-that-the-germanwings-copilot-was-muslim-is-1694063626

[Mace2004]

Yes, that's why I said "if true."  All the information is "sketchy" and both FB pages could certainly be fake but it's a far more likely scenario than "depression" that I'm sure is being investigated.  If you recall, it took forever before anyone would admit that EgyptAir 990 was intentionally crashed by its Muslim co-pilot who constantly repeated "I rely on Allah" as he crashed the plane.  On the other hand I can find absolutely no evidence that "depression" has ever been the cause of an intentional airliner crash by one of it's pilots. As I said, it'll be interesting.

[Zimme83]

Yes of course, all bad guys must be muslims, there is no chance a white guy can do such thing...
That is just BS, The copilot was not muslim, nor did he do it for political reasons, as official already stated. Based on CVR etc and what they have found in hos home it seems like they have a pretty good picture over the events. They would not go out and state that it was a suicide without having good evidence.

[Mace2004]

Why so defensive Zimme?  There is reality and there are delusions.  Given the state of world affairs and the war by Islamic radicals it's foolish and delusional to not consider the reality of the situation.  Perhaps the idea he converted to Islam isn't true but, given history, it's foolish to not at least consider it out of some sort of overblown sense of political correctness.  I also said nothing about his race, it's irrelevant except, evidently, in your mind.  As for "official statements" Nidal Hassan's attacks at Fort Hood were officially called "workplace violence" completely ignoring the reality of the situation, the evidence, and the facts.  So much for political correctness.  As I said before, it'll be interesting to see what comes out after everything has been investigated.