sail0r
Intern
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2011
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- 94
Superjumbo slip-up due to programming error, inquiry told
Distracted Qantas pilots mucked up programming their Airbus A380 coughpit computers and only realised they did so as they hurtled down a Los Angeles airport runway, air safety investigators have found.
Interruptions to pre-flight procedures meant pilots had no readout of the target speeds they needed to reach in order to lift off — something the captain only noticed as the plane hit 100 knots (185km/h) accelerating along on the tarmac.
While one instrument gave them their instantaneous rolling speed, the pilots had to read from handwritten notes to recall the lift-off target speeds they had to reach, investigators said.
That pilots had handwritten notes as a back-up was "fortuitous", Fairfax Media has been told.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel...nquiry-told-20120808-23u4o.html#ixzz22x40iOec
I won't google, so if I show my ignorance, so be it, but pushing to full thrust without confirming V1, V2 seems pretty odd to me. Great they had handwritten notes, but wouldn't you be looking to the Air Speed Indicator to have this sort of information (is there a blue pointer or the like?)
Anyone know if the investigation said that they had gone past the point of no return, or should the captain have aborted takeoff?
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