Unions Say NTSB?s Mention of Pilot Error Could Cloud Asiana Crash Investigation Jul 21st 2013, 19:15
While the investigation of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 continues, the Asiana Pilots Union (APU) and the Air Line Pilots Association of Korea (ALPA-K) have both issued a joint statement on the events and investigation surrounding the accident.
The statement cites the fact that aviation accidents often have multiple causes. It also said that the groups are concerned “about the possibility of inaccurately identifying the cause of the accident, due to NTSB's press conferences which only give prominence to the possibility of a pilot error and unprecedented speed in disclosure of related materials to the public.”
In her press conference about the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board Chairman, Deborah Hersman identified the fact that pilots and cabin crew in the cockpit at the time of the crash had been debriefed and had stated that they had had adequate sleep the night before the flight. Hersman also said that the NTSB would be investigating the coordination of flight crew with automated systems including auto speed and auto throttle and with each other.
Some experts have commented on the fact that although the pilots have told the NTSB investigation team that the auto throttle had been given the correct settings, scrutiny is now falling on the fact that it appears as if the pilots had not been monitoring those systems correctly, as they attempted to abort the landing when they realized they were flying too low and too slow, indicating a disconnect in awareness of actual speed and approach vs. the automated system record.
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