> imagine some nice dirt-loving wasps have built nests in all of your pitot tubes
All of them? And I didn't notice any of them during preflight? And none of them were there on the previous flight? And I didn't notice that the airspeed was not alive on the takeoff roll? Not going to happen.
> or they've iced over
Again, pretty freakin' unlikely on takeoff flying out of Addis Ababa. And this is another thing a pilot can rule out by looking out of the window. If you're not in clouds, you're not picking up ice.
Also, there are OAT (outside air temperature) sensors.
> your engines to have failed
Another thing that would be pretty apparent to the pilots.
No matter how you slice it, Boeing screwed the pooch bigly.
> > imagine some nice dirt-loving wasps have built nests in all of your pitot tubes
> All of them? And I didn't notice any of them during preflight? And none of them were there on the previous flight? And I didn't notice that the airspeed was not alive on the takeoff roll? Not going to happen.
You underestimate the abilities of people to fuck things up. Birgenair Flight 301 - one tube blocked by mud dauber wasp, leading to crash. [0] Later that year was the crash of Aeroperú Flight 603 - the static ports were covered with tape, which was never realized by the pilots. [1] (They continued flying as if their altitude and airspeed readings were accurate)
> > or they've iced over
> Again, pretty freakin' unlikely on takeoff flying out of Addis Ababa. And this is another thing a pilot can rule out by looking out of the window. If you're not in clouds, you're not picking up ice.
> Also, there are OAT (outside air temperature) sensors.
Not applicable in this instance, sure. But "are there clouds around" isn't something I'd expect the flight computer to be able to reliably detect, and that's what would have to make the decision here.
> > your engines to have failed
> Another thing that would be pretty apparent to the pilots.
I'd agree that it SHOULD be.
> No matter how you slice it, Boeing screwed the pooch bigly.
Yep. But there's still more complexity here than people seem to want to acknowledge.
All of them? And I didn't notice any of them during preflight? And none of them were there on the previous flight? And I didn't notice that the airspeed was not alive on the takeoff roll? Not going to happen.
> or they've iced over
Again, pretty freakin' unlikely on takeoff flying out of Addis Ababa. And this is another thing a pilot can rule out by looking out of the window. If you're not in clouds, you're not picking up ice.
Also, there are OAT (outside air temperature) sensors.
> your engines to have failed
Another thing that would be pretty apparent to the pilots.
No matter how you slice it, Boeing screwed the pooch bigly.