OOPS! Japanese 737 co-pilot pushes the Dutch Roll button

mikea

mikea

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Why do they make the rudder controls look and feel so much like the door lock?!
 
rotorhead1026 said:
Actually, they're not similar at all - unless there's some custom door button that I don't know about.
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omgosh, sorry I meant to make my sarcasm obvious but failed!
I really think there is more to this story than what was reported.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
omgosh, sorry I meant to make my sarcasm obvious but failed!
I really think there is more to this story than what was reported.
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Yeah, here in my mind I was envisioning something like what happened to John Denver (reach back for something and step on the rudder).
 
It wasn't the Co-Pilot.....it was the damn tire spiders that got into the cockpit!

FO just got the blame....
 
At least he didn't hit this switch....

wingsye5.jpg
 
a senior executive vice president at ANA, apologized and bowed deeply in front of TV cameras at a news conference to apologize for the trouble caused by the incident, which took place Sept. 6.
...
ANA said a 38-year-old co-pilot likely hit the rudder trim controls by mistake instead of pushing the door unlock button to let the captain in after he stepped out of the cockpit to go to the restroom.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...hitting-wrong-button-20110929,0,6079798.story
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OK, then.

Seppuku to come.
 
Looks like headcall recovery training is in order.
 
Ah... the rudder trim IS on the center console as I recall, far aft, and I think the unlock button is in the same general location.

This sounds actually plausible.
 
I don't know about that model 737, but on the 777 the rudder trim is a knob about two inches in diameter and the door lock is a rotary switch maybe one inch in diameter. I would THINK the 737 would have been similar. Tactile feel is quite different.

I kind of have to wonder if there is something going on that they don't want to talk about.
 
mikea said:
OK, then.

Seppuku to come.
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We might laugh at Japanese execs, but I think their American counterparts could learn a thing or two from them. And I'm talking specifically about apologizing and showing humility, not seppuku. (cause this isn't spin zone!) :)
 
From Fark:

Uoʇʇnq ƃuoɹʍ sdoo

030708_rudder_knob4.jpg


Why the H* is the text in both directions? So you can read it while you've inverted the jet?
 
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The cabin probably needed to be wiped down with a damp cloth after that maneuver.
 
Pilot failed to use/was not taught important aid usually learned early in training;

"If all hell breaks loose, undo the last thing you did"
 
So here's a question - I can't imagine that he was hand-flying at the time, so assuming the plane was on A/P, what happens in the 737 when you turn the trim knob? Does it automatically kick off the A/P, or does George try to counter the pilot input?
 
At least it seems as if he did a nice job of recovering. :rollercoaster:
 
Fearless Tower said:
So ... what happens in the 737 when you turn the trim knob? Does it automatically kick off the A/P, or does George try to counter the pilot input?
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Well, considering that the autopilot does not control the rudder, (that is a function of the yaw damper) the autopilot will feed in aileron input to counteract the roll. When it runs out of aileron, THEN the autopilot will kick off.

Let'sgoflying! said:
I bet enough trim input will kick it off, especially if fed in quickly.
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Well, rudder trim only feeds in at a given rate and it isn't particularly fast.

I am still betting there is something that happened that we aren't being told about. The Japanese culture seems to be all about "Face" They will do almost anything to keep from "losing face". What was that First Officer doing that caused the incident? It reminds me of the Northwest crew that overshot MSP because of being distracted by the laptops.

So what is the REAL story? :dunno:
 
Imagine the captain outside the cockpit door hanging on with an unintended handstand.

Greg, I can guess, and if you told me you'd have to...

It occurs that unless there's a camera outside the door the flying pilot has no way to know if some bad guy is holding a weapon to the guy outside waiting to get back in. I guess the FAs block the aisle with beverage carts but what kind of barrier is that?
 
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Also, a rudder trim is apparently "方向蛇調整" (houkou-da-chousei). Live and learn! Also, the pun opportunities!
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Very close as in close proximity to each other? They sure aren't close in size and shape.
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Yeah, but people regularly manage to confuse gear and flap switches that are different sizes, shapes, colors, and on opposite sides of the throttle quadrant.

Given a large enough sample size (enough aircraft, crews, and operations), anything that can be done will be done.
 
Everskyward said:
Yeah, here in my mind I was envisioning something like what happened to John Denver (reach back for something and step on the rudder).
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How do they know what happened to JD? I thought he more or less disappeared, and he was alone...
 
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