[ml/nj]

The plane just tracks along the route as programmed.

So teach me about these sophisticated auto-pilots. Why wouldn't they get the plane down to, or at least over, the outer marker? What happens once you have just reached your last waypoint? Does the thing revert, without warning, to an old-fashioned wing-leveler; or was it already flying off to their alternate?

ML/NJ

[Habibi]

Again, I am/was merely a Boeing driver. You are basically correct. In the case of the Boeing, it rather depended on the extent that the FMS (Flight Management System) was programmed. When loaded up at the origination airport, you could set it up to go right down to the runway (VNAV is a wonderful thing) at destination (autoland and rollout if you wish), though you'd have to add the gear and flap extension, along with reverser deployment at the proper time (rather a fiddly affair because it doesn't involve pushing buttons). Otherwise, you could set it up to just fly to the closest IAF, which might be the closest VOR. In that case, without additional routing, the system just “dumps out” into a heading hold mode. Better than a wing leveler, but suddenly decerebrated compared to its former capabilities.

Don't worry, you get annunciations when that happens. The sad thing about the WN crew was that they claim not to have noticed any of this. Unbelievable! What's the benefit of having all of those really cool LCD panel displays showing maps galore and a bazillion annunciation modes if two guys are so clueless that they seem to have missed all of it?

Simultaneous, bilateral crew incapacitation is more than slightly difficult to swallow. It's impossible for my addled brain to absorb. Well, they are effectively grounded now, so the immediate threat to the public is removed. The flight deck crew is where they should be, and that's a good thing. Still, it will be interesting to see what the truth of the matter is.