Comments on: What do I do now?

By: Jerry Chao

Jerry Chao — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:35:19 +0000

A friend of mine with some knowledge of India Aviation Industry told me there are some issues with pilots falsifying qualification in order to get those positions. There is a shortage of pilots due to the rapid expansion. Without getting into the specifics, I was horrified by the story. I am not surprised by the performance of this 25 year old co-pilot. Let’s hope at least the captain is well qualified.

By: Gerard

Gerard — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:36:23 +0000

Yes, technology for all it’s benefits can sometimes lead us astray. Pilots need to remember how to fly the plane, provided they were taught that skill in first place, which apparently this Indian FO was not.

I am not planning any flights in India soon, but I still need to fly and often it’s on Colgan Air under the Continental logo, so the story of flight 3407 is of particular interest to me. While airmanship if properly applied in those last 23 seconds might have saved the day for flight 3407 , the fact is the aircraft should have never been allowed to get into a stall in the first place. I have read and re-read the transcript of the cockpit voice recording for flight 3407 and while I feel sorry that the last hours of their lives are laid bare for all to read, it is apparent that this flight crew was not performing at their best. Yes, there were contributing factors, but clearly the crew’s lack of professionalism in the cockpit contributed to ineffective management of the aircraft and ultimately the entry into a stall which apparently they were not properly trained to address. There was a combined 5000+ hours in the cockpit and it counted for nothing that day.

Yes, we need to turn off the glass cockpit every so often and practice stick and rudder flying, but regardless of who or what is flying the plane, we still need to manage the flight, from pre-flight to shutdown. It is easy to get complacent, but pilots need to bring their A-game to each and every flight. Flight schools, commercial operators, the airlines and the FAA need to ensure the pilots have an A-game to bring. GA or ATP we should all strive to be professionals in the cockpit.

This is the link to the NTSB report for flight 3407 which includes the CVR transcript.

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2010/aar1001.pdf

Read it and ask, what would you have done differently?

By: John Hey

John Hey — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 03:02:33 +0000

It is true that technology is getting us away from the stick and rudder skills that were our daily diet. An older Delta captain told me that the Colgon accident was pure basic airmanship failure, but on their frequent check rides this is not tested for since they presume any airline pilot has that ingrained in them and besides, it is not real fun to stall a B737 or do grave yard spiral recoveries in them. Maybe we are funneling our students into the big iron track too early. Lets just hope TSA won’t get in the mix!

By: Eric F.

Eric F. — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:42:18 +0000

Perhaps they need to upgrade the drivers seat on that bird to include a chamberpot attachment??

Seriously though, a student pilot here in USA is expected to recover from this situation, by reflex, promptly and safely, in maybe 700 feet not 7000, before even being permitted to fly any airplane solo.

What kind of training did this “first officer” recieve?!?

By: Lyman H.

Lyman H. — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:33:30 +0000

the first test will be if the immediately prescribed policy implemented is that captains will no longer be allowed to leave to cockpit for any reason during the flight. if that occurs, the problem will be deemed “solved for now”, and after the hub-bub dies down, fundamental reform will be abandoned. let’s hope that the establishment comes clean, and addresses training!