Spanair accident at Madrid

[justme69]

BIS,

I agree with most of the points you raise. When we post here, we all obviously try to be brief and shortcut our explanations a bit.

So just to clarify, when I said "increased training" I meant "more, better training". I disagree that knowledge doesn't come from "more" training but only from "better" training. I think that it comes from both, but that's just semantics.

When I said "more frequent TOWS checks" I meant more than just once a day and whenever pilots changed or were away from the cockpit for a long time. In more practical and specific terms, I meant "once a day by maintenance and shortly before each takeoff by the crew". Obviously TOWS check is an important safety measure, as shown in this an other cases, second to killer items, of course, but not far behind, lacking a better solution (i.e. technologically super-reliable TOWS which gives a big and clear indication when it fails)

I fully agree with the "right culture" against the "macho" culture. I think there is a LOT of that in Spain at least (Iberia, Spanair, Air Europa, Binter, Air Comet, etc). I have no problems pointing fingers where I think they are due.

I, nonetheless, disagree that training or "corporate culture" in those companies promote or condone this kind of behavior, but SOME pilots engage on it right away shortly after their license/rating is granted.

Firing someone with a powerful union behind is not easy or cheap in Spain. And with closed-door cockpit policies, other than consistently spying on your own pilots through CVRs and QARs I don't know how they can figure out the good apples from the bad.

I'm all in for planting videocameras in the cockpits and have one person in the airline reviewing everyday random flights and suspending pilots left and right. But I can see hell being raised by them and their unions, so it probably won't happen and the "machos" will continue to dominate the skies.

I have two relatives that are in the aviation industry. One is an ATC and the other is an airline captain for a major airline in Spain. The horror stories he tells me of while travelling around in jumpseats are not for the faint of heart.

DISCLAIMER: Obviously there are very fine, top of the line worldclass pilots in Spain. But we have ALL seen what some less stellar ones do around here. And not only here, of course. Look at the CVR from LAPA or Delta (etc, etc) in similar accidents for much much worse.

And on the good side of news today, all survivors have left the hospitals in Madrid, although one of them would still need local medical supervision for a while. All 17 PAX and 1 avan crew member that survived have been able to recover favorably.