Originally Posted by
retired guy
Dear Icolman
I think that you have hit the target. If you believe that it is acceptable to become task saturated in a simple engine failure scenario with a bit of fuel dumping, as a properly trained commercial pilot, then I can see why there are so many comments on these forums puzzled about why things go wrong. I am sure that your view is sincerely held and that many share it. I do not.
Dealing with task saturation is probably the most important part of flight training and if you cannot do it, better find a new job. The scenario above should not even raise the heartbeat. The Lionair and ET are much more difficult given the two emergencies of Loss of Airpspeed and then MCAS induced Runaway Stab. Coupled with multiple warnings and stick shaker. But the day before the Lionair, the crew did fly the same plane with the same faults for two hours to a safe landing just like that. With all those problems.
But, and of course it is only a view, the MAX crashes were manageable from a task saturation standpoint. Deal with the bigger problem first, then the next, methodically and calmly. As per QF out of Singapore with I think over 60 separate warnings and many many procedures to be worked on a plane partially crippled.
I will try to fly, as I always have done, with pilots who do not become task saturated. Think of the BA 747 with 4 engines out over Jakarta. The Captain has time to address the passengers calmly on the PA and advise them of the situation and the crew then proceeded over the next 20 minutes to relight alll the engines and land at an airport surrounded by mountains with no GPS and no moving maps - just paper charts from a folder. An airport totally unfamiliar and challenging too. Now that IS a task, but not overloaded.
Cheers and thanks for your comments.
R Guy
Dear R Guy,
Totally agree that task saturation is something for a flight crew to manage. I also agree that better training, better CRM and better planning will help mitigate the effects of this.
However, having said this; it is simply a reality that every human is different and has different levels of tolerance to task saturation including how they individually process excess tasks and information.
You are also right in pointing out the incredible job that the BA9 crew did, but there were also 3 crew in the cockpit dealing with that.
In a large number of emergencies, excellent crm or excess crew played a part in the positive outcome of said emergency.
The whole MCAS debacle really highlights this, the Lion air crew who encountered this first had 3 crew in the cockpit that day. This left someone free to troubleshoot while the other 2 controlled the aircraft and kept it within the flight envelope. The next crew didnt have adequate CRM or capacity to deal with the issue and continue to fly.
My belief is that task saturation can happen to anyone and can be trained for, it just takes will and recognition that this can happen to anyone.
Luckily in this case, the flight landed safely with some very minor injuries on the ground. Dont get me wrong, the best result would have been that no one was affected except for a delay, but this is an issue that we should recognise and train to recognise.
Safe skies!
Luke