[Spiffav8]

Originally Posted by Simmo

It's quite common for a Second Officer to have control of the aircraft (above a given altitude), but the chain of command is always Captain - First Officer - Second Officer. So the SO can "have the controls" (ie manipulate the aircraft) but the responsibility of the trajectory of the aircraft lies with the guy in the left seat (Captain or FO in this case). So here we have the Captain Dubois, FO Robert & SO Bonin in that order.

Bonin appears to have been so overloaded he's load shedded to the point that he is relying on ab initio skills to attempt to recover the aircraft. Scary stuff but it happens, even in experienced crew. The trick is to manage the situation so it doesnt get even close to that level of workload. In some parts of the world guys can be in that seat with little over a commercial pilots licence so its not surprising he was struggling.

As low cost carriers continue to dominate, and the bean counters continue to shave every margin (and people continue to fly low cost to save $3 and go without a biscuit) I personally cant see the situation getting any better. The "cream" if you like, will no longer choose aviation as a career as it is no longer viable. {end of rant} lol.

I didnt realise Airbus' equalise the control inputs in alternate law, thats scary s*it.

That's a very good rant. Sadly it's true.