This event reveals serious shortcomings in the training of aircrew, if we read between the lines of the report in todays Times newspaper.
It turns out that, after experiencing some power surges, and then after a short silence a loud bang, the pilot was instructed to return to BOH using only one engine. He came on the radio to tell passengers that, in simple terms, something akin to a carburetor failure had occurred, and that they would go back to BOH.
This raises several questions;
1. Why did the pilot have to be instructed on what to do, ie return to BOH using only one engine? Are pilots not trained to make such decisions?
2. Why did the pilot not know that he is provided with a PA system? There was no need to use the radio, and, for that matter no guarantee that every passenger would have one switched on to listen with. This is a Health & Safety issue as well as a training issue.
3. Finally, I realise that in these straightened times airlines such as Palmair have to keep their costs down. But a little technical training for the pilot would have meant that he would have known immediately that a swarm of bees could not have affected the carburetter on his jet; any fool knows that they could not possibly have got through the airfilter.