reply to post by habu71
Yes, it is an interesting topic to discuss, and nice to know there is an actual pilot to chat with.
I still question the NTSB recreation, sorry, it does not look accurate.
Well, just speaking to AA 77...the video made of the last few minutes, starting at 8,000 and just West, before the wide turn, fits perfectly with the
NTSB report showing the autopilot, nav radio and fuel consumption activity...in graph form the airspeed, heading information fits. Could be a
chicken/egg situation?? Meaning, the graphics first, THEN the video...but what I'm trying to say is that would require a COMPLETE false SSFDR data
read...and you know how many things it looks at, and records. I just can't picture technology capable of creating all that "false" data.
If there is someone with actual knowledge, verifiable, to show how that can be done I'm all ears....
It is easy for those of us that have flown turbine aircraft for years to forget the transition issues into jets. The inertia, speed, velocity,
and planning issues were part of the difficulties of the transition into jets.
Under normal circumstances, perhaps. IN the sense of a full syllabus involving the aspects you speak of, and an ability to incorporate AND perform to
acceptable standards (I.E., altitude/heading/airspeed control, showing a good "feel" and mastery of the airplane).
These guys mostly used the autopilot and MCP...I pointed out how on AA 77 Level Change was used, but never V/S...while the guy in UA 93 did use V/S
occasionally. None of them, of course, used VNAV. Nor LNAV...they just heading selected to steer. I don't know if they put waypoints into the FMC,
or just used the VOR and put the HSI into full or expanded mode...full HSI mode is something they'd be more used to, than Plan.
A few hours in a heavy jet sim would most likely not be enough for a low time pilot to properly execute a high speed descent culminating in a
precise impact.
I'm not so convinced of that. You know how forgiving the B757/767 are.
From my experience, had the aircraft been in a shallow dive, at that level AGL (above ground level) at impact, the velocity and explosion would
have created not just an impact hole in the reinforced wall, but a massive crater in the ground...
Those are just assumptions, and much of the photographic evidence needs to be taken into full account, and full context. I've seen more than my
share of selected views to "prove" a certain point...
Some later photos showing a lack of significant damage to the floors below the Ground Floor may indicate that AT IMPACT the forward momentum of the
airplane had a mostly horizontal component, parallel to the ground, with very little of any previous descent motion. A pitch change of just a few
degrees would have accomplished that, especially at high speeds.
But, pure speculation at this point...because there is a lot of conflicting information, possibly coming from many of the CT side too....
The exact possiblity of airplane path stays cloudy.
The cessation of the SSFDR moments before impact doesn't help, either. That is a clue, perhaps. Did Gen #1 drop of the Bus? (Engine damge, FOD
ingestion?) Did the cross-tie not pick up the load on Bus #1 fast enough??
Power interruption to the SSFDR....how long for it to recover and begin recording accurately again?
What time sequence would be involved in that scenario??
Wish someone could examine that more closely.