No evidence of mechanical problems in US jet crash

No evidence of mechanical problems in US jet crash

Shouldn't that be Korean jet crash? A little misleading the way it reads above...

Probably could have been worded a bit better, but we all know what they meant as soon as you read the first paragraph.

I was surprised by the wording also. But what I'm reading is that the quality and strength of that Boeing jet saved many lives in that crash, so maybe the headline is OK. :-)

So many times have flown in and out of SFO, so this really hits close to home! Too close for comfort! I do hope the US authorities and the South Korean ones get to the bottom of this mess. RIP

The "bottom of this mess" is pretty much a done deal unless the NTSB comes across some really unexpected facts. The main cause of the crash was the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain adequate thrust to keep the plane at the recommended approach speed. Contributing factors will be the pairing of a pilot relatively new to the aircraft with a pilot performing the duties as a check-pilot for the first time.

The auto-throttle was in the ARMED position - which is a standard part of the checklist during approach for other types of aircraft, but I'm not sure if it's the same for the triple-7. ARMED is used to tie the auto-throttle to the TOGA (Take Off / Go Around) switch on the console. If the TOGA switch is activated by one of the pilots, the auto-throttle engages and pushes the throttles up to maximum power (regardless of the "speed bug" setting) for either a take off or if a go-around is called for. Until the TOGA switch is pressed, ARMED is the same as OFF and the throttles must be manually controlled.

No alcohol or drug tests of the pilots by homeland insecurity or national transportation security board! Incompetence.

Pilot inexperience...looks like a duck, walks like a duck, must be a duck! The pilot should of been drug tested and arrested for further investigation...

The main cause of the crash was the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain adequate thrust to keep the plane at the recommended approach speed.

Until the TOGA switch is pressed, ARMED is the same as OFF and the throttles must be manually controlled.

Was the pilot-in-command aware at all that he must control the throttles manually? And if he was, why did the pilots choose the manual control? The article in Wikipedia about Autothrottle says that

On Boeing type aircraft, A/T can be used in all flight phases from Takeoff, Climb, Cruise, Descent, Approach, all the way to Land or Go-around, barring malfunction.