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Exclusive: Cockpit voice recorder of doomed Lion Air jet depicts pilots' frantic search for fix
Reuters ^ | 20 March 2019 | Cindy Silviana, Jamie Freed, Tim Hepher

Posted on 03/20/2019 5:18:38 AM PDT by csvset

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE/PARIS (Reuters) - The pilots of a doomed Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX scoured a handbook as they struggled to understand why the jet was lurching downwards, but ran out of time before it hit the water, three people with knowledge of the cockpit voice recorder contents said

The captain asked the first officer to check the quick reference handbook, which contains checklists for abnormal events, the first source said.

For the next nine minutes, the jet warned pilots it was in a stall and pushed the nose down in response, the report showed. A stall is when the airflow over a plane’s wings is too weak to generate lift and keep it flying.

The captain fought to climb, but the computer, still incorrectly sensing a stall, continued to push the nose down using the plane’s trim system. Normally, trim adjusts an aircraft’s control surfaces to ensure it flies straight and level.

“They didn’t seem to know the trim was moving down,” the third source said. “They thought only about airspeed and altitude. That was the only thing they talked about.”

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 737; 737max; lion; lionair
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To: Lurker

“The manufacturer has said there is a documented procedure to handle the situation.”

Too bad it wasn’t in the quick reference book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Look in the wreckage for a “How To Fly A Huge Plane For Dummies” book.


21 posted on 03/20/2019 5:39:05 AM PDT by shelterguy
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To: Lurker
Too bad it wasn’t in the quick reference book.

And too bad it wasn't written in Indonesian...or whatever language they speak in Indonesia.

22 posted on 03/20/2019 5:39:36 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: Lurker

Fake News.He had 200 hours in type, not total time. Everyone has to start somewhere. I believe the First Officer had in the neighborhood of 5000 hrs.


23 posted on 03/20/2019 5:39:47 AM PDT by drywhitetoast
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To: Gay State Conservative

“I’m gonna wait for a final report issued by a body that has no reason to lie”

I agree with your post.

Seems like if there is a peculiar behavior inherent in all 737 MAX airplanes then the thousands of airline and test pilots would have warned about it.

Unskilled pilots or a component failure seem to be the most likely cause of the crashes. But a component failure on two crashes within a few month in a 3rd world country. Ok, throw in poor maintenance.


24 posted on 03/20/2019 5:40:08 AM PDT by cymbeline
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To: Moonman62

How much muscle power does it take to pull back the yoke if the trim tab is set to nose down? Seems to me my arms would NEVER get tired.


25 posted on 03/20/2019 5:41:20 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: Balding_Eagle
200 hours of flight experience. Equivalent to 5 weeks.

Your first homework assignment is to get a map and figure out if Indonesia and Ethiopia is the same place. Then look at the dateline on the story posted here, and figure out which of the Boeing failures is being discussed.

The pilots of the Lion air flight had approximately 6000 and 5000 hours of flight time respectively.

26 posted on 03/20/2019 5:41:37 AM PDT by PAR35
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To: csvset

Is this plane so inherently unstable that it has to have software to keep it flying? And the system is not documented to pilots? And the procedure to shut it down is not available in the quick ref manual?

So much wrong here. Really loved Boeing and its history, but this really sucks.


27 posted on 03/20/2019 5:44:10 AM PDT by CodeJockey (Trump... The exorcist of Cultural Marxism)
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To: central_va

From the article:

The flight data recorder shows the final control column inputs from the first officer were weaker than the ones made earlier by the captain.


28 posted on 03/20/2019 5:46:10 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Facts are racist.)
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To: central_va
How much muscle power does it take to pull back the yoke if the trim tab is set to nose down? Seems to me my arms would NEVER get tired. Quite a lot of force actually but the aircraft is completely flyable with full nose up or nose down trim. It is a procedure we actually train for.
29 posted on 03/20/2019 5:46:41 AM PDT by drywhitetoast
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To: SkyPilot

I wonder if the pilot had enough practice disconnecting the trim inputs ? Some sort of drill , either real world or simulator ?


30 posted on 03/20/2019 5:47:25 AM PDT by csvset (illegitimi non carborundum)
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To: drywhitetoast

“I believe the First Officer had in the neighborhood of 5000 hrs.”

Whatever it was it wasn’t enough.

L


31 posted on 03/20/2019 5:47:37 AM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending it is.)
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To: csvset

It’s supposed to be “aviate, navigate, communicate”, not “bloviate, defecate, terminate”!


32 posted on 03/20/2019 5:48:05 AM PDT by VideoPaul
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To: central_va

“How much muscle power does it take to pull back the yoke if the trim tab is set to nose down? Seems to me my arms would NEVER get tired.”

The aircraft apparently was in control, and it thought it was right. You can’t win that argument.


33 posted on 03/20/2019 5:48:46 AM PDT by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest)
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To: Lurker
we are still finding things out.

I've only had my jeep for two weeks and the electronics on the thing are incredible.

The biggest problem I have right now is with the keyless entry. I'm constantly getting out of the car with the key fob in my hand and forgetting to push the button to turn off the engine.........LOL!

34 posted on 03/20/2019 5:49:53 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (ui)
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To: Lurker
Whatever it was it wasn’t enough. What is the correct number then?
35 posted on 03/20/2019 5:50:48 AM PDT by drywhitetoast
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To: cuban leaf
It doesn’t mean Boeing is off the hook, but it looks like it really was a case of “pilot error” to some degree, if only because a different pilot had the same thing happen but the plane didn’t crash.

If the failure of a single sensor can send the aircraft into a dive toward the ground, it is not "pilot error" if the unfortunate pilot is unable to deduce the cause and determine the solution in time. The problem is that the aircraft dove toward the ground.

It would have been great if these pilots had been better trained, or had better documentation. But the fact is the aircraft crashed itself, because it was getting erroneous sensor information, and the system was not designed well enough to prevent a fatal response by the flight control computer.

36 posted on 03/20/2019 5:52:31 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Travis McGee
Boeing is going to be HAMMERED in lawsuits. HAMMERED.

True.But there are several variables. Where will the lawsuits be filed? Very probably in the US...but possibly elsewhere.

One thing's for certain...regardless of who weak the case might be to support culpability for Boeing (as opposed to pilot error,poor maintenance,etc) you can be sure that a judge or jury that knows *nothing* about aircraft will find for the plaintiffs.

37 posted on 03/20/2019 5:52:40 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: PLMerite
The aircraft apparently was in control, and it thought it was right. You can’t win that argument.

What does that mean? There is no yoke? You can't pull the nose up? SEL pilots want to know.

38 posted on 03/20/2019 5:52:47 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: drywhitetoast

“What is the correct number then?”

More than what they had.

Next question.

L


39 posted on 03/20/2019 5:53:48 AM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending it is.)
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To: drywhitetoast
It is a procedure we actually train for.

Apparently not!

40 posted on 03/20/2019 5:53:59 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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