Badly designed checklists
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Badly designed checklists
Of all of the aircraft I have flown the A300-600 has some of the worst designed emergency and abnormal checklists.Airbus used this aircraft and the A310 to prove the ECAM philosophy.What they forgot was to design a facility to update the ecam system software!
For instance consider this scenario:Avionics smoke
The procedure on Ecam directs the pilot into the procedure Avionics smoke in the QRH but,and here is the big gotcha,in the QRH you now have to do the general smoke items first! Is there a reminder to do this anywhere?No!
Minimum equipment smoke is equally as bad.You are required to pull all the minimum equipment bay circuit breakers.Is there a list in the QRH of what these are and the effect of doing this ?Again the answere is NO!
To add insult to injury what device is used to sense smoke in these two cases?The First officer's nose!The A300 has a pipe into his side panel and a fan to blow air through it.he is required to sniff the pipe's contents!Modern materials when burnt tend to stick in the lungs inflicting permanent damage to those that inhale them.Airbus however require a pilot to inhale them!
Can anybody come up with a checklist on another type so badly thought out with such potentially fatal results to the user?
For instance consider this scenario:Avionics smoke
The procedure on Ecam directs the pilot into the procedure Avionics smoke in the QRH but,and here is the big gotcha,in the QRH you now have to do the general smoke items first! Is there a reminder to do this anywhere?No!
Minimum equipment smoke is equally as bad.You are required to pull all the minimum equipment bay circuit breakers.Is there a list in the QRH of what these are and the effect of doing this ?Again the answere is NO!
To add insult to injury what device is used to sense smoke in these two cases?The First officer's nose!The A300 has a pipe into his side panel and a fan to blow air through it.he is required to sniff the pipe's contents!Modern materials when burnt tend to stick in the lungs inflicting permanent damage to those that inhale them.Airbus however require a pilot to inhale them!
Can anybody come up with a checklist on another type so badly thought out with such potentially fatal results to the user?
Join Date: Jun 2008
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A320 Qrh
Dear Tubby,
If it's any consolation for you... The A320 QRH and ECAM is just as bad or even worst.
First the Page of the SMOKE/FUMES/ Removal comes just before (on the left side) the SMOKE/FUMES drill paper x-list. Which, as I've seen in the SIM leads a lot of crews to start the removal before starting the smoke drill.
This procedure has been changed around 10 times during the last ten years.
Then a ground course/1,5 hours briefing should be dedicated to this crazy two in one, breaking chapter in between, Dostoievski novel.
Then there's the crazy Airbus Indentation format, maybe very comfortable for theToulouse guys while they have a coffe, but useless for pilots with a CKPT full of smoke.
Then you should rather take an F/E with you to complete and understand last part of the Electrical Emgy Consideration/Setting and Gen2 Reset.
If that's not enough, you have a foolish square box to tell pilots that if situation becomes unmanageable, consider an immediate Ldg. THANK YOU AIRBUS!!!
I've seen few crews to work it out properly, and statistic don't lie.
With the old proc. an unperceptible cabin depressurization was commonly induced by the crew. And now nobody understands the removal at 10,000 feet.
I know it is a complicated proc on every A/C, but the guys at Toulouse should simplify it as much as they can and turn it operational rather than academic.
Regards.
If it's any consolation for you... The A320 QRH and ECAM is just as bad or even worst.
First the Page of the SMOKE/FUMES/ Removal comes just before (on the left side) the SMOKE/FUMES drill paper x-list. Which, as I've seen in the SIM leads a lot of crews to start the removal before starting the smoke drill.
This procedure has been changed around 10 times during the last ten years.
Then a ground course/1,5 hours briefing should be dedicated to this crazy two in one, breaking chapter in between, Dostoievski novel.
Then there's the crazy Airbus Indentation format, maybe very comfortable for theToulouse guys while they have a coffe, but useless for pilots with a CKPT full of smoke.
Then you should rather take an F/E with you to complete and understand last part of the Electrical Emgy Consideration/Setting and Gen2 Reset.
If that's not enough, you have a foolish square box to tell pilots that if situation becomes unmanageable, consider an immediate Ldg. THANK YOU AIRBUS!!!
I've seen few crews to work it out properly, and statistic don't lie.
With the old proc. an unperceptible cabin depressurization was commonly induced by the crew. And now nobody understands the removal at 10,000 feet.
I know it is a complicated proc on every A/C, but the guys at Toulouse should simplify it as much as they can and turn it operational rather than academic.
Regards.
A300-B4 with Flight Engineer (me).
Smoke drills very much the same.
Start on page 3 in QRH (mask,goggles, etc.) and then sort out what you have.
Isolate source if possible.
Then page 1 for smoke removal.
We also have Main Deck Cargo Smoke warnings to contend with. Two different conversions, so Two different systems / procedures, and the Simulators don't have this.
All you can do is read the check list on the aircraft every so often to keep fresh and hope it never happens.
One good thing from the Economic downturn, our 2 non-standard A/C are being parked up. (But the contract crews are being layed off though).
Safe Flying.
Smoke drills very much the same.
Start on page 3 in QRH (mask,goggles, etc.) and then sort out what you have.
Isolate source if possible.
Then page 1 for smoke removal.
We also have Main Deck Cargo Smoke warnings to contend with. Two different conversions, so Two different systems / procedures, and the Simulators don't have this.
All you can do is read the check list on the aircraft every so often to keep fresh and hope it never happens.
One good thing from the Economic downturn, our 2 non-standard A/C are being parked up. (But the contract crews are being layed off though).
Safe Flying.
