I was watching the National Geographic Channel a few hours ago, when they told the well-known story of Speedbird 009, the BA 747 that lost all 4 engines after passing through volcanic ash. This was the incident that changed the world, with regard to volcanic activity, as you would all recall. The Captain was fully focussed on flying the aeroplane and making lots of desperate but excellent command decisions.
While he was doing that, his
EXPERIENCED co-pilot was busy working with the flight engineer in many increasingly more desperate attempts to relight the engines. The crew can certainly be forgiven for not being aware of the close proximity of danger from an un-notified volcanic eruption and they all did one hell of a great job. My question is... will a MPL-holder be capable of the same sort of competence and support to the captain?
I know that volcanic events are now part of SIM training sessions and there are some SOPs for it, as well as advance notice and diagnosis methods. But, when the dirty stuff hits the fan(s), in the next unforeseen event, will the entire crew be up to it? What is the actual price that airlines put on the safety of passengers?
What is the actual price they put on the safety of the crew?
I'm just asking, of course...