Door warning or not isn't too big a deal, but I think other things
are. Take one example of oil quantity level or pressure. FAA rules
here for simple A/C say no warning on either required. Yet every
year, a number of people crash when a leak is sprung in flight,
following operator "alert" called engine seizure. Data does not
include such failures resulting in only no-damage, off-airport
landings.
However, for spin characteristics, FAA rules now are so strict that
the Lancair Columbia has a Rube Goldberg arrangement of plunger servos
at the rudder that make it spin-proof depending upon system inputs.
This is because people stall-spin to the ground, but often the
contributing cause is inattention following a system failure.
Airliners, now, must demonstrate that failure probability of critical
systems be 1,000,000,000/1, forcing designers to go redundancy. But
essentially voluntarily, designers provide the crew with Master
Warning Systems with 3 levels of alert.
The irony is that FAA protects us from the consequences of system
failures by assuming we can never learn to fly above stall in the
event of a failure that could have been pre-warned. They also must
assume that airline crews dutifully stare at gauges for several hours.
So here we are, periodically monitoring systems, thinking we're
emulating professional cockpit crews. Who are actually enjoying the
flight, kibitzing about company policy, sports, and flight attendants.
Make sense?
[re the post about Basil Fawlty, might that be like Mr. Bean too?]
Best,
Fred F.
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