Originally Posted by
wingdeagle
Luke, more training alone would have not fixed the latest incidents. The two runway excursions and the tail strike: a simple go around would have taken care of everything. Sounds like a lack of good judgement: judgement cannot be trained. However the airline could do so much more to help the crew make a good judgement. It can start with doing away with punitive culture and implementing a non punitive one (SMS). No reports should be required in case of a go around. If a crew decides to execute a missed approach, more power to them. The public shaming needs to stop. And if a crew does deserve to get a slap on the wrist, it should be done behind closed doors. Secondly the company needs to get away from an Aero Club mentality and become a real airline. This means either hire real dispatchers or train the ones who call themselves "dispatchers" to provide proper information to crews during briefing. It takes more to be a dispatcher than print out flight plans and tell you the ZFW. As far as training, train the F/Os to properly read NOTAMS. There is more to NOTAMS than VIP movements. Runway and taxiway closures etc. need to be addressed. And lastly, it takes authorities weeks and perhaps months to investigate an incident. Strangely at VNA it takes a couple of days and the "follow SOP strictly" solves it all. Till next time ....
Yeap; you pretty much beat me to responding to Luke...
perhaps a side note: a reason for a go-around for statistical purposes I would request, purpose to identify patterns such as ATC, weather, or simply Pilot Training.
One thing I like what you said, and I mean a lot, is the “get rid of punitive measurement” and “need for public shaming”mentality; I just can’t get my head around how the Chief Pilot wishes to improve their relationship with pilots by handing it to them with sticks. Do managers really believe we wake up and get out of bed in the morning with the intent of breaking an airplane today?
Luke, in my comments I ment no offense, and I think (and hope) we’re all on the same team, because I know it’s hard to teach common sense in this region; what is even harder is teaching in an internal company culture that inspires a privilege of laziness, Because that is what is happening: we are too comfortable with not moving another finger to even audit ourselfs when we fly! Perhaps even because some of us might not like what we will see at the end as the work ambience of the company promotes a level laziness that I can only describe as Habit-forming; and I am the first to admit: I am one of them!
I agree that “**** happens”, and being a keen AvHerald reader, I am very aware it happens all the time; but you can’t just go out to the plane with your fingers crossed hoping that it won’t happen to you today.
I remember hearing a local FO saying “we don’t always have to do everything perfectly!” to which I replied asking him if he would want ME to do my job perfectly if his mother or girlfriend was on board; guess what, I’ve never seen an FO enter the requested enrute winds so quickly into the MCDU in my career because I explained him that we owe this to all our customers, not just his family...
Fact is, if your normal ops is disciplined, your abnormal will be a matter of mind-over-body; but when things go wrong and you were not doing your job the way you are supposed to, and are not used to doing it, chances are that will probably end with a hull loss if it is a more complex failure.
But, as asked, here is my wish, Luke, and IA1166:
take the list that Wingedeagle mentioned and put it in front of management, in writing; that way it is a responsability that the managers HAVE to comply with or be accountable in case of an accident.
Have the balls as experienced instructors in Vietnam Airlines to highly recommend these changes, promote a non-punitive SMS system, one that analyzes data and corrects behavior, not beats its best source of information to pulp and into submission by ways of the force and fear! If not, the turn over rate will just keep going and nothing good will come from that... I myself am just too lazy to look for a new job by now...