Editorial: Danger in the cockpit
It was a shocking revelation, further accentuating widely held fact that over 85 per cent of accidents in aviation are caused by human factor or human error.
Inexperienced pilots/engineers are even doing more damage to a sector that is life dependent.
Ever wonder just who’s behind that cockpit door, flying you between Lagos and Abuja, Abuja and Accra or New York and Los Angeles or from Washington Dulles to Amsterdam? If you knew, you might think twice before you get on that flight.
The number of newer, less-experienced pilots in the cockpit is growing, and that increases the risks for an accident.
Every time an airline loses a captain they need to train two pilots; a first officer needs to be upgraded, and a new pilot needs to be hired and trained.
A new captain, while experienced as a first officer, is still new to his job and there’s a steep learning curve – and increased risk – while he gains experience in the left seat.
The new first officer is significantly less experienced. Most worked as flight instructors in slow single-engine planes and have only limited multi-engine experience.
Accident reports released recently by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) gave a vivid insight into what happens inside the cockpits of airplanes that most times lead to fatalities.
More striking is the report of Associated Airlines’ Embraer 120ER, registration 5N-BJY, a charter flight which departed Lagos to Akure on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and three others that were released by the AIB Commissioner, Akin Olateru, an aircraft engineer.
The Associated chartered aircraft bore the remains of former Minister of Aviation and former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu.
The aircraft came down at 118 meters after take-off, killing all on-board with the exception of four people who sustained major injuries.
The report of the accident that occurred on October 3, 2013 stated that take-off should have been aborted when the crew noticed defects with the airplane but decided to continue with the flight.
The flight crew was said to have acted unprofessionally, exhibited poor company culture. The aviation regulatory body, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was not spared.
The agency was indicted for its inadequate regulatory oversight on the airplane which was parked for over a year before the charter service was carried out without re-certification.
It was actually a period serious regulation took flight occasioned by high level of interference by the then Minister of Aviation which helped to greatly compromise safety and security.
The Dana plane crash, like that of Associated and many other plane crashes that have happened in Nigeria and around the globe are caused by inadequate or lax regulation and pilot error who most times do not adhere to safety rules.
The report went further to say that the Captain completely ignored warnings from the cockpit that the airplane had defects. He also ignored the advice of his co-pilot to abort the flight. It crashed less than two minutes after take-off, crashing near the aviation fuel depot at the Lagos airport.
It is saddening that while accidents occasioned by pilot/crew error can still be accepted as one of the few mistakes, what is unacceptable and one that can be categorised as huge crime or even manslaughter is for airlines to operate airplanes that are defective and for the regulatory body to abdicate its responsibility to air safety.
It equally clearly shows that Crew Resource Management (CRM) was lacking; an indication that carriers do not take it seriously.
The AIB has concluded plans to hold a stakeholders’ summit next month on CRM to help reduce the incidence of pilot error, non-coordination of crew in the cockpit.
While no one can assess how many lives have been saved or crashes averted as a result of CRM training, the impact has been significant.
Although policies put in place to reduce pilot error are not universal across the world, there are varying guidelines about how long a pilot can captain a flight, how many co-pilots should be present and how many hours a pilot can fly before taking mandatory breaks.
There are also varying guidelines about how many hours of training pilots must complete, below what altitude they should not hand over control of a plane and when they should abort landings.
While it is not out of place to bring into the fold and allow them to gain more flight hours through diligent training before handing them delicate opportunity of manning the cockpit, almost all major international airlines, especially in Nigeria and Africa are eager to exploit the cost advantage of employing younger, less experienced – and therefore cheaper – pilots.
To stay safe, the system increasingly relies on the experience and professionalism of airline employees who are already stressed fatigued and working more while earning less.
We at Woleshadare.net call on the AIB and regulatory agencies to implement the recommendations of the various accident reports.
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