The Fly By Mouth concept of Flight Safety

[A37575]

With the steady increase of more and more “standard procedures” whereupon the PNF is required to virtually talk down the pilot to landing, it seems the principle of the much vaunted silent cockpit introduced to stop excessive non-operational chatter below 10,000 ft, is now dead and gone. We are in the era of superfluous "operational" chatter forced upon us by the much vaunted research papers that pour out of the United States University of Texas. The drivel that masquerades as essential support calls has long become an irritating babble of nonsense, to put it bluntly.

Recently I was in the simulator to operate the instructor panel while job interviews (sim assessment short flight test) were being conducted on experienced 737 pilots. Two non-English speaking airline check captains observed the candidates do a couple of circuits and ILS. One Eastern European captain "supporting" and occupying the right hand seat kept up an almost endless stream of non-stop yakking - in other words giving unwanted "advice" to the stranger in the left seat who was PF. I had no part in the assessement process, being just the instructor panel button pusher, but I was horrified at the nonsense emanating from Captain Fly-By- Mouth in the right seat. He was a flight safety hazard.

On completion of the 45 minute exercise, it was coffee break and as we left the simulator one of the two assessing captains said to me "That was excellent support calls and good CRM by the PNF - we will take him." The fact that he did not understand most of what was being said went right over his head. The PNF was a good "communicator" said the assessor.

I always thought the wonderful sophistication of EFIS and associated map displays was designed to give the crew all the information they needed for safe navigation. Not satisfied with even this information overload on EFIS, operators are still not satisfied until the PF is overwhelmed with ever increasing “support” calls of altitude, speed, system status and we haven’t included automated radio altimeter call-outs, or checklist challenge and responses.

Have the airlines gone too far the other way? Does excessive talking in climb and descent really lead to a safer operation? Is it all driven by fear of litigation if something goes wrong?

The silent cockpit below 10,000 ft was supposed to enhance flight safety. How come that theory has been replaced with the very opposite? I am talking about the once derogatory term Fly-By-Mouth – because that is today’s flight deck.

[BOAC]

As with everything in life, like 'Topsy' it just grows. A basically good idea to ensure that all crew are 'in the loop', growing to what you describe. Too much 'chatter' and it starts to impede one's (my!) thought processes. It's up to you guys and girls to sort it out! You run the checks (this session excluded, of course).

[LeadSled]

Folks,
Another way of describing A37575's experience is "chanting the mantra", somebody/everybody is talking, but nobody is listening, it all becomes noise, but --- is anybody flying the aeroplane ??

Have a look on the Australian ATSB web site for an incident involving an A320, coupled approach to YMML --- Sorry I don't have the time to give the reference.

All the calls, "great support", etc., almost word perfect, but what was the aeroplane actually doing ---- still headed, "coupled", towards the ground during a "missed approach". As I read it, the only thing that saved the aeroplane was that the crew finally woke up when the retracting gear triggered a "too low gear" EGPWS warning.

Monitoring ROC, increasing altimeter, speed, AP modes ???

Where was the "seeing/thinking" in the recent Turkish B737 loss at Amsterdam??

It reminds me of an aeronautical version of the definition of: " Education, a process whereby the information in the notes of the teacher passes to the notes of the student, without passing through the minds of either".

Perhaps ---- " All published procedures were completed by the crew, without human thought or intervention".

During audits assessments, I see "thoughtless" operation all too often.

Tootle pip!!