Trident Papa India - 18 June 1972
Discussion
Making the link between "Autocratic Captain" and "retraction of leading edge droops in error" is not really justified and could only ever amount to speculation.
Captain Keys certainly had autocratic tendencies - and advanced heart disease as well. Both of these atributes COULD have been a factor on the flight deck that day. G-ARPI wasn't fitted with a Cockpit Voice Recorder as they were not compulsory at the time. Therefore what was said on the flightdeck remained totally unknown.
It was lack of data from that area that led to CVRs becomeing compulsory on British airliners.
Captain Keys certainly had autocratic tendencies - and advanced heart disease as well. Both of these atributes COULD have been a factor on the flight deck that day. G-ARPI wasn't fitted with a Cockpit Voice Recorder as they were not compulsory at the time. Therefore what was said on the flightdeck remained totally unknown.
It was lack of data from that area that led to CVRs becomeing compulsory on British airliners.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 18th June 15:01
I think the general concensus was that he was in the middle of a major heart attack which understandably distracted him from the task in hand; one book I have speculates that it would have been the inexperienced F/O on the droop and flap levers, he may have retracted both by mistake, which the captain then failed to notice due to chest pain. The fact that there were 2 separate levers is cited as a probable contributary factor.
Trident; another great British world beater first delayed then ruined by BEA. Speys for god's sake; you'd have thought they would remember what happens when you don't design for weight growth and have a decent power surplus.
Trident; another great British world beater first delayed then ruined by BEA. Speys for god's sake; you'd have thought they would remember what happens when you don't design for weight growth and have a decent power surplus.
hidetheelephants said:
I think the general concensus was that he was in the middle of a major heart attack which understandably distracted him from the task in hand; one book I have speculates that it would have been the inexperienced F/O on the droop and flap levers, he may have retracted both by mistake, which the captain then failed to notice due to chest pain. The fact that there were 2 separate levers is cited as a probable contributary factor.
Trident; another great British world beater first delayed then ruined by BEA. Speys for god's sake; you'd have thought they would remember what happens when you don't design for weight growth and have a decent power surplus.
I don't think that there was any general concensus because there was so little evidence to go on. The "heart attack" theory was very plausible, but it was only ever a theory.Trident; another great British world beater first delayed then ruined by BEA. Speys for god's sake; you'd have thought they would remember what happens when you don't design for weight growth and have a decent power surplus.
Don't just blame BEA for the Trident's inability to sell. Part of the blame lies with De Havilland themselves and (of course) the British government of the day.
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