CHINA. Fear and Punishment.
I am a foreign Captain working in China.
I would like to start a serious debate about what I believe is a big elephant(panda?) in the room when it comes to aviation safety today: China. As the biggest driver of growth in our industry for the foreseeable future I think it a good idea we all forearm ourselves with their attitude towards the modern safety culture.
I do this in the hope that some pilots in the international safety community can raise it at the highest level so we don't see a sizeable chunk of our industry operate in a shadow system built around fear, paying lip service to international standards.
This parallel (or counter?)culture has been present for years and it has far reaching consequences as I'll explain.
The list of 'errors' that attract punishment are categorised by two lists: 'general' and 'serious'. This list is published by the CAAC.
General errors are worth an RMB fine, unpaid suspension, investigation, retraining and for foreigners loss of bonus equivalent to 1200usd/6000usd/12000usd+ (1st/2nd/3rd event)
There are almost a hundred reasons listed (MANY trivial) but here are some examples:
-Forgetting to collect a Jeppesen manual or any other documents.
-Not doing 30mins of online preparation on the day off before flight.
-Taxiing at over 10kts in a turn.
-ROD over 1200fpm below 1000ft regardless of weather.
-Go Arounds due to unstable approach or crew error.
-Arguing with ATC
Serious errors are punished using variously demotion, loss of TRI/TRE status and pay, unpaid suspension, retraining, larger RMB fine, and for foreigners 12000usd bonus loss immediately.
Again here is a very brief list:
-Heavy landing
-Altitude bust
-RTO due to any error
-Any amber/red/ECAM warning caused by crew
-Landing overweight
Some of the seemingly insignificant items that attract major fines from the CAAC and operators both that are playing havoc on the line daily and will have long term repercussions:
-Heavy landings -1.8G Company/General error and 2.0G CAAC/Serious error- forget the manufacturer definitions. The QAR is used as the official measure and it applies to both crew members regardless of PF. I'll come back to this.
-Lightning Strikes. Level of punishment depends on if there is damage.
-Go Arounds (due to unstable approaches). Level of punishment depends on event.
-ATC controller fear (and fear of ATC controllers)
Pilots find themselves receiving clearances in metres and QFE from ATC with poor English; then must convert it to feet and QNH altitude and set it correctly. At jeopardy for an incorrect altitude is an RMB fine equivalent to a few hundred dollars, 12000 USD safety bonus, end of contract bonuses and around a month's pay for the suspension and retraining. Overall around 30-50k is on the line each and every flight even for relatively inconsequential events(like a 2G landing).
This culture of punishment and fear is not only applied to pilots. It applies across the board. ATC, Cabin Crew, Engineers, Meteorologists, Police, Medical Doctors, Managers; everyone.
This is why in China On whim ATC will close airports, doctors fail your medical, police do nothing and managers are nowhere to be seen.
Consequences
Overall as one could expect the entire punishment culture has overruled any possibility of cultivating a reporting culture. Any time a safety report is made somebody, somewhere will be severely punished for it, whether it be the reporting pilot or the reported body. Also pilot reports will regularly disappear. I would love to see the ICAO feedback on SMS and Just Culture in China!
Heavy Landings fine:
-Pilots are doing nothing remotely close to the correct landing technique. They land long, never decrab, ignore centreline and speed, caring only about the touchdown QAR report. Vacating the runway all pilots stare at groundspeed to exit at exactly 9kts everyone else be damned.
-Co pilots are being refused landings by almost all captains. Training captains being paid to teach landing are pocketing the training pay, but not allowing the FO to handle. Every landing is full jeopardy. Dual input is an accepted technique and regularly practised as no fine applies. Instructors are taught how to avoid inputs appearing on QAR. Time to command is as little as 3 years.
Lightning strikes
-Pilots are deviating 100 miles around innocent rain clouds.
-knock on effect is serious ground delays as the already heavily restricted airspace needs wider separation.
Birdstrikes have no associated fine, yet nevertheless go unreported (to ATC, CAAC, maintenance and the company)
Go Arounds
-this one is obvious. Go Arounds are not performed when they should be, with sometimes catastrophic consequences.
ATC being fined, impact on procedures and airport design.
-ATC have huge separation at all stages of flight, including for example 10+ miles on final, 40nm em route, regardless of level and 3000ft separation at least regardless of RVSM or airspace. Taxi and pushback procedures regimented, inflexible, and almost no conditional clearances.
-Slightly misty? Airport closed. TS nearby? Airport closed. No discretion.
-With blame for mistakes predetermined to be on the pilot, airport design is atrocious. Painted taxi lines with lights at night not aligned with them, that if followed would result in aircraft damage and runway hold points ill defined and poorly lit etc..
I deem Chinese aviation to be entirely dysfunctional in the extreme. The entire responsibility for errors and events are being placed in the individual employees lap. This places professionalism far below basic individual ass-covering in people's priorities.
A million strict, punishable, and yet directly contradictory rules set by various managers covering their own asses exist at every level. Each level adds a margin also. Most rules are then ignored as it is impossible to comply with them all. Only those linked to punishments are followed. Practically this means aircraft limitations and SOPs disregarded. Only QAR limits followed.
This QAR monitoring is only getting worse. The CAAC is getting direct and centralised access from next year, with western data suppliers delighted to sell them QAR data accessible on managers smartphones etc...
The ultimate effect of this culture of blame and recrimination on the individual is of course criminal responsibility. This will apply I'm certain not only to those working in China, but also those operating into here. With economic crimes attracting the death penalty I fear for anyone having any accident resulting in a fatality.
It would also be neglecting not to mention that many airlines have fuel bonuses for pilots. This is a direct payment to pilots for saving fuel. As you can imagine this has some very interesting results as pilots act unprofessionally chasing this payment whilst avoiding fines.
In this pursuit you can see pilots ignoring Atc speed control, shutting down engines during at touchdown, running APUs during climb, using MCT extensively, reducing fuel below flight plan, etc etc.
China has complete disregard and disinterest in international standards of safety. Right now the Chinese aviation leadership don't even bother going to any safety seminars, and when they do they send the secretary or it's for a shopping jolly..
TIC
I would like to keep this a serious discussion with the help of the mods, and I am posting this in rumours and news to get a higher viewership, but as we all know this is PPRUNE..
I for one don't like flying with an anvil over my head, and don't want this trend to spread any further into my future non-China jobs.
How can we get the wider international safety community to step in and get more vocal?
TL;DR China is overseeing an elaborate and very sophisticated punishment based 'safety' culture.