...The sudden, unheralded nature (click here) of Aviana Airlines flight 214's crash in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon seems to have taken even the jet's trained crew by surprise in the crucial, chaotic moments after it came to rest just beyond the seawall at the end of the runway.
After the Boeing 777-200 that originated in Seoul, South Korea, hit the seawall barrier at the end of the runway, snapping the tail right off the aircraft, San Francisco resident and crash survivor Benjamin Levy said the crew was simply "overwhelmed."
He said there was no verbal warning from the pilot or crew before the impact.
"I mean, the crew was not expecting it at all," Levy said. "So, I mean the ones who were able were helping, the ones who were injured were not. You know, we had to help each other out."
So far, 305 of the 307 passengers and crew survived the crash. At least 181 people have been transported to area hospitals, 49 with serious injuries....
The larger the aircraft the more they rely on computers to fly them. What occurred at San Francisco is a problem with the ever increasing size of the jets and their reliance on computers to fly. These large jets rely on digital and not analog technology. The pilots are very used to handing the control to computers. This was NOT human error. This WAS computer error and the heavy reliance of them.
...Officials told the Reuters (click here) news agency that a landing assistance system known as "Glide Path" had been turned off at San Francisco International for much of the summer, and while it was not unusual for the system to be turned off during good weather conditions, it would likely be another factor for investigators to consider.
"What that means is that then the automatic warnings that would occur in the cockpit when you deviate below the desired electronic path wouldn't have been available either. So we don't know yet if that's a factor in this particular situation, but that's certainly something they'll be looking at," Sullenberger told KCBS....
Not only is it Glide Path, what updates did the computer get before it landed because it looks to me as though the plane didn't compensate well for the longer San Francisco runway and/or the sea wall. These are all computer problems.
The Fly By Wire system first came into effect with the Space Shuttle. It was used to assist a heavy vehicle with a small wing surface from space to a runway. It was later adapted to aircraft and the Airbus A320 was the first to use the technology. These super-jumbos rely very heavily on computer systems to stabilize them in flight as well as takeoff and landing.
There was a book written after "The Miracle on the Hudson" entitled "Fly by Wire" (click here) that discusses the lack of power the FAA and it's investigative agencies have and how dangers continue in the face of knowledge by pilots to adverse outcomes. No one paid attention and no one is still paying attention. The media is only interested in getting control of the message and diverting everyone's attention to insure the industry doesn't suffer set backs in income.
Here again there is no questioning the decisions of Wall Street, but, supporting their stockholder share prices. The consumer loses every time and in this instance there were deaths. Then people wonder why employees of these airlines lose their cool. These issues happen because every member of the crew knows to some degree of error they are flying on a wing and a prayer.
