In recent years there has been several ATSB reports (some of which were highlighted in the Pilot Training & Airline Safety enquiry) dealing with unstabilised approaches and Operational Non-compliance while conducting an approach. Therefore a recent blog piece by the Flying Profs investigating the Asiana Flight 214 is IMO of particular relevance.
Stabilized and Unstabilized Approaches at KSFO
Quote from the 'Implications' section of that article:
Implications
What are the implications of these data? Although the dataset is not large, it seems possible that there is a structural issue (training, airlines policies, ATC issues, etc.) that is leading to Asiana flying high energy, unstabilized approaches (or failing to go around when they do, since my data doesn’t include cases where flights go around). Of course, it’s impossible to differentiate between, say, a training issue and an airline policy issue by looking at the data here. But if you believe that flying an unstable approach was a contributing factor in the Asiana 214 crash (my tentative opinion is that it was), and the apparent higher rate of unstabilized approaches by Asiana in this limited dataset is real, then there is an important issue that the NTSB and FAA should investigate.
As an aside, there's been no shortage of cultural explanations for the crash, including assertions that Korean pilots engage in too much rote learning, or that they defer too much to senior pilots because Korean culture emphasizes respect for elders. Please don't construe this post as supporting that position. Whether there are significant cultural issues (national or corporate) that contributed to the crash can't possibly be determined from the data presented here. Our focus at Flying Professors is on the math and physics of flying and the joy that that brings (and least to a certain geeky demographic), and we'd like to keep it that way. But please see the article by James Fallows at the Atlantic for a nice discussion about the role of culture in Asiana Flight 214 (and also for some kind words about Flying Professors).
Hats off to the Flying profs!
