Originally Posted by laxsnaogg

I think another common theme in recent accidents is the fact that Airbus aircraft use a "sidestick" as opposed to a more traditional "yoke" that are found on Boeing aircraft.

The significance lies in the fact that Airbus pilots cannot see (easily) what actions the co-pilot is taking, and vice versa. On the other hand, each yoke on the boeing moves in sync when either of the pilots takes action.

This was evident in the Air France 447 (also an Airbus A330) disaster, where the co-pilot was pulling back on the stick to try and gain altitude, but instead was causing a stall (whereby the corrective action would have been to simply level out, or move it forward). Only seconds before the crash did the captain become aware of the co-pilots actions (and that was via the co-pilot telling him he had been pulling back on the stick for roughly two minutes), but sadly, it was too late. Read the transcript, its scary.

I'm no expert, but in these recent events, a common theme is pilots incorrectly pulling back (on side stick or yoke), when the correct action is to level out or push forward to gain airspeed and avoid/correct a stall. Again, the big difference is that on the airbus, pilots don't have a "steering wheel" in front of them that moves while the other pilot is taking action. They have to be able to see around the other pilot, and obviously, be thinking about the need to look in the first place.

I'm sure a pilot or aviation expert can speak more clearly and/or correct me, but I think the issue of too much automation is a real concern; and more specifically, the Airbus "sidestick" not moving in tandem between pilots is of significance (at least in recent accidents).

All of that said, I still feel safe flying on HA.