Wonder why this is being leaked before the investigation is completed?
"Wonder why this is being leaked before the investigation is completed?"
To prevent lawsuits from the survivors against Southwest... it is "pilot error," against explicit Southwest policy, and therefore Southwest is not liable for the deaths or injuries.
Not leaking, announced by NTSB. BIG difference.
As far as autobrakes go, SWA says don't use them, which is the reverse (no pun intended) of many other lines. The engineers insist the autobrake system will outperform the average pilot, even accepting that the average is pretty good.
It is too early for certainty (although not too early for speculation!) but I think being late on reversers (18 seconds is a while... look at your watch and imagine a landing) is going to turn out to be a bigger problem than autobrakes.
The lack of a safe retarding overrun at MDW is a problem, too. It has been installed at over a dozen airports, but in Chicago nothing happens till the right members of the Daley Crime Family get lubed.
I have always wondered what Boeing was smoking, to relocate their corporate HQ to Chicago, which not only has none of Boeing's far-flung manufacturing, but also does not have one good airport (neither commercial nor GA). As far as I can tell, dirty-old-man-in-chief Harry Stonecipher just didn't like hanging his trenchcoat in Seattle.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F