Page 2 - Auto Throttle News Today

Instrument approach to guide them, but he felt pressure to do it, because other pilots were. >> as we apply it as a tool to aid the pilot, not replace the pilot. >> reporter: investigators questioned if the pilots were too reliant on technology. the pilot flying thought the autothrottle was engaged, but it wasnt, dramatically slowing the plane. >> are there certain phases of flight where airspeed is going to be a do-or-die situation? >> absolutely. we we design the airport, we assume that airpor...

Speed. it also suggests a few things chblg the pilots didnt recognize the auto throttle was disengaged. they werent cross checking their equipment. or again, they fully didnt understand how to operate this automated system on the triple 7. all of those scary possibilities when you consider this plane had passengers on board. >> and that we all get on planes and assume that the systems are perfect. i want to move on now. because if that pilot or that plane crash because of bite error, what does...

Transcript, he said, hes not so confident. he felt that he should study more. again, that coming from the pilot who was at the controls saying he wasnt very confident with the automated systems inside that plane. ntsb investigators are concerned about pilots overreliance on automated systems in the cockpit. specifically when it comes to the planes auto throttle. its the equivalent of cruise control in a car, and the pilot thought that the auto throttle was engaged, but it turned out it was not. ...

To send to the engine and in turn that sets the planes speed. just think of cruise control in a vehicle. now the ntsb says in this particular case, asianas pilots thought that the auto throttle was engaged but it wasnt so the air speed fell too slow below the target speed. this just suggests possibly they were flying a plane. they didnt totally understand how things were working there as far as the automatic controls within the cockpit that, of course, is problematic. we also learned the first o...

Officer told investigators that just 52 seconds before the crash, he warned the crew that the plane was descending too fast. pilots who have flown 777s told me 52 seconds is more than enough time to correct the problem, but for some reason, the problem was not corrected. also, based on investigator interviews, we now know the pilot flying the plane was uncomfortable with the landing he was about to make, saying visual approaches are, quote, difficult and stressful. and when he was asked how conf...

His colleagues in the house will act. >> we are working in a bipartisan way to quietly get the votes. make sure it is legislation that people understand and we can get the votes to move forward. >> reporter: for this man, he says the time is now. >> this is about family values, family reunification. this is about border security and most of all this is basic american justice. >> reporter: abc news, washington. >> an update from the investigation of the asiana airlines crash in san francisco in j...

Controls apparently were consistent with recommended settings. pilots in that deadly asiana crash last month in san francisco also using auto pilot and auto throttle. investigators are looking now at whether the operating procedures -- theyre looking at the auto procedures, i should say, to see what went wrong. heather: heres some good news for you. one pennsylvania based toy company is bucking a decades-old trend by making its toys almost entirely in the u.s. and then selling them to china. a r...

The air speed? its going to be, i think, a combination of human factors and how the pilots interact with the machine. jon: its my understanding that auto throttles on the jet are designed to shut down at 100 feet elevation so they dont start blasting power as the pilot is trying to bleed off power for the landings. >> thats right. and theres also an indication that as the flying pilot has his hands on the throttle, if theyre not loosely on the throttle, that could disengage the auto throttle, if...

This is going to impact the order book. the 787 has got a tremendous order book. people have been happy with the planes performances except for the groundings. lets see where this one goes but it certainly is unneeded for boeing. jon: and then lets take a quick look at what happened in san francisco. the investigate of that 777 crash still underway. theyre supposedly looking at the systems, the auto throttle and the other systems that adjust that planes power as its coming in for landing. what c...

Remnants of a charred flight 214 after it slammed into the seawall. the debris, giant rocks, pieces of the tail section and the landing gear littering the runway and now we have the fullest picture yet of the flights final moments. around 50 seconds out the first officer sitting in the jump seat comments about the sink rate, thats the speed at which the plane is descending. at about 35 seconds out and 500 feet up the pilot told investigators he saw a bright light and in response looked at the co...