helen-damnation
1. No one here has explained what has been taught at EK that differs from Airbus.
2. Most line pilots working for EK seem to accept that what is being taught is wrong!
Therefore, if the crew in question felt that what was being taught was incorrect, why when their aircraft was clearly not responding did they not take action sooner? The Captain signed for the ship and is responsible for it and the safety of his/her passengers and crew that is and has always been the bottom line.
Tajfa
My opinion on a suitable response by a responsible company, for what it is worth, would be in the first instance a review of the crews training record, experience and training provided on type. Consider any other mitigating circumstances and then if this proved to be a one off blip, re-training and a written account by the crew concerned in the airline safety magazine so others can learn from the event. This crew, if they are good guys, will be the last ones to make the same sort of mistake again so punitive action would achieve little and contribute nothing to flight safety. This approach fosters trust and makes crews feel able to talk about incidents so all can learn resulting in a much safer operation and happy airline.
On the other hand if it is proved that the crew were negligent and operated the aircraft in contravention of approved published company procedures then a more serious response would be appropriate, demotion, loss of seniority, increments, bonus etc, depending on the company’s policy and severity of the transgression. In a clear case of gross negligence, dismissal maybe the only course of action appropriate.
We are all human, the adult and responsible management approach should be to use the incident to increase flight safety, not to look for someone to blame and punish as the first port of call. Utopia? Maybe but I believe this is what all airlines should aim for. Certainly my own company has made a big effort over the last few years to move in this direction.
I clearly know nothing of EK and its attitudes so please do not take my comments as any form of judgement either of the company or the pilots concerned in this case as I like many here do not have all the facts. But at the end of the day my last post really reflects what I believe to be the situation at EK; it is the risk you run working for this type of operator, one can only hope in time they will evolve in to a more humane employer. It behoves them to have good employee relations and representation to increase pilot confidence in the company management structure and therefore, improve flight safety. This last point is often missed by some management structures who seem more concerned with covering their own rear ends than doing the job they are paid for. Sadly this attitude runs from the top down and in airlines like EK I believe it is a cultural problem that will not be easily solved.
However, Dubai is a nice place to live and work so it is a risk many seem happy to take.
