This debate has been circulating of a good many years, and is usually resurrected after an avoidable accident. Circulating because it seems to never end. The opinions about the problems & causes seem to be consistent. I have read many suggestions about solutions, but no concerted common plan. IMHO, relevant to jet airliners, chugging around in a spam-can is fun but not a solution. I still feel that the basic MPL course has been diluted too much. I spoke to some CPL colleges and there is an opinion that a jet airliner pilot can be taught almost everything in a ZFT sim. The basic PPL might be enough and then it's in the box being crammed full of MCC/CRM/SOP. Sony play station should start building a/c.
Basic CPL training is the same for everyone, but should it be? Previously a CPL was 250hrs. You could then leap into an air taxi and hour build. You were not in a rigid SOP world flying a high powered performance A a/c. You had to rely on basic airmanship and if you survived for a year or two your learning curve was steep and educational. It was a wonderful world of balancing & combining airmanship, manual flying and management of a flight often in testing Wx conditions into basic airfields with basic aids, and running the show yourself. A marvellous foundation on which to build a career.
The MPL has diluted that foundation extremely. The airline prof' check LPC/OPC is orientated towards very basic skills and rote following of SOP's in very simplistic scenarios. Handling skills in the common manoeuvres is generally OK in both LHS & RHS. The 4 year F/O who can fly now thinks a command is the norm. The biggest difference between LHS & RHS is how & what to think about. It is a management role of the whole operation. How to digest multiple information and make judgements and then apply them as a team. This is hugely different from just flying, but is it taught and encouraged? Is a/c knowledge & systems knowledge deep enough? No.
I think rigid SOP philosophy has tried to cover too many of those decision making possibilities. This starts wth 'minimum fuel' being the norm and you better have a mighty good reason not to follow that rule. I found senior SFO's didn't know how to decide a safe fuel figure, which might well be minimum. Then, en-route, the continue-divert decision making was scant on dodgy Wx days. Training was orientated too much towards correct following of SOP's and procedures. The comfort zone was defined and quite small. Circumstances which shift a crew towards the edges of that comfort zone can cause incidents and even worse. We are seeing perfectly serviceable a/c being mis-managed mis-handled. I think the root cause goes back to basic training and recurrent training of jet airliner programs. There is now such a variety of commercial pax aviation operations, from air taxis - turbo-prop airlines - biz jets - airliners that I think the initial class training needs to be reviewed.
We hear much 'beating of gums' by general airline pilots. We don't hear much from XAA's, NTSB's, AIB's, airline HOT's, airline CP's. Why the silence? Where is the joint debate including those who need to authorise, mandate & execute any changes? Pilots' comments on this subject have been repeated for years, but nothing has changed and accidents are still occurring. For how much longer?
This thread has drifted away from the EK incident and, perhaps naturally, reverted back to the debate about basic skills and airline culture. Regarding training: I relate to my doctor & lawyer friends: they do a basic foundation course and then specialise. Each are of considerable length. We do a short CPL - ATPL foundation and then a very basic type rating course. The checks we perform and similar for all classes. is this the correct method for our profession? The operating world has changed hugely; the training & checking world less so. Are they in step/phase/balance? Are they coordinated?
As many have said $$$ is the controlling factor in many minds. One wonders if the huge compensation payouts claimed after accidents could have been better spent.
Last edited by RAT 5; 12th Sep 2016 at 07:41.