PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AS332L2 Ditching off Shetland: 23rd August 2013
Old 11th Sep 2013, 13:35
  #1555 (permalink)  
HeliComparator
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Aberdeen
Age: 67
Posts: 2,090
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Sterile cockpit

Yes, certainly in Bristow anyway. However one has to be careful with such concepts. The Ops Man A has had the concept for sterile cockpit for a while. It started out as being in place for takeoff, approach and landing. Then there were some issues with misunderstood departure clearances, so the whole taxi phase was included which in Aberdeen can last 20 mins or so. Then as a result of ATC's fatuous obsession with alt busts being the most evil thing in aviation, the whole climb to cruising level, and descent from cruising level, was included. Thus on a 225 which might be cruising at say FL70, that means the first perhaps 30 mins, and the last say 30 mins (descend from FL70 at 500'/min, an instrument approach, taxy back), plus somewhat less for the offshore arrival and departure, and you end up with a good chunk of the flight sterile cockpit - supposedly! So by overdoing it, the whole thing becomes devalued.

Unfortunately these sort of creeping changes are often done in response to external pressure, rather than as part of any joined-up thinking.
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