Let me just start with this little manifesto:
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The job of a commercial transport airline pilot is to:
a) possess the skills to fly the aircraft(s) he/she is assigned to under any foreseeable circumstances; those skills being basic airmanship, navigation, communication, flight engineering and systems administration, procedural proficiency (normal and abnormal) and CRM.
b) be an authority on the aircraft(s) he/she is assigned to, including an extensive systems and systemic behavioral understanding of every control he/she has access to;
c) defend the flying public from both immediate and latent threats to their safety.
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Now, this concerns item (c), which includes reporting to public authorities any ongoing procedural or operational policy that presents an immediate or latent danger and, failing action by that authority, to make that danger known to the public by other means.
It is my opinion that every airline pilot has this responsibility, even if it threatens their job security. What I keep reading about and witnessing in accident reports is quite a different scenario where pilots are distressed about tough scheduling and fatigue, with some even going so far as to expect a crash at some point as a result, yet they fail to make these concerns public.
I don't mean to assign the greater blame to these pilots, but I think they share some of it. Indeed, most of the blame falls upon the operators and oversight agencies for pursuing and tolerating practices that are almost assured to result in loss of lives. Still, big business and big government are infested with corruption. The individual pilot is the last line of defense.
My two proposals to end this pattern of fatigue-induced crashes are 1) a UN mandate via the ICAO as I described in the Fly Dubai 981 thread and; 2) a revolution of pilot culture, speaking up, no longer remaining silent on the issue and refusing outright to fly if they feel unfit due to fatigue.
The first proposal could be instated by decree, the second would have to be an organic self-preservation movement within the industry and a moral prerogative.
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So, I'd like to hear any other serious ideas on how we can finally do away with the single most dangerous practice in commercial aviation today....
-----------------------------
The job of a commercial transport airline pilot is to:
a) possess the skills to fly the aircraft(s) he/she is assigned to under any foreseeable circumstances; those skills being basic airmanship, navigation, communication, flight engineering and systems administration, procedural proficiency (normal and abnormal) and CRM.
b) be an authority on the aircraft(s) he/she is assigned to, including an extensive systems and systemic behavioral understanding of every control he/she has access to;
c) defend the flying public from both immediate and latent threats to their safety.
-----------------------------
Now, this concerns item (c), which includes reporting to public authorities any ongoing procedural or operational policy that presents an immediate or latent danger and, failing action by that authority, to make that danger known to the public by other means.
It is my opinion that every airline pilot has this responsibility, even if it threatens their job security. What I keep reading about and witnessing in accident reports is quite a different scenario where pilots are distressed about tough scheduling and fatigue, with some even going so far as to expect a crash at some point as a result, yet they fail to make these concerns public.
I don't mean to assign the greater blame to these pilots, but I think they share some of it. Indeed, most of the blame falls upon the operators and oversight agencies for pursuing and tolerating practices that are almost assured to result in loss of lives. Still, big business and big government are infested with corruption. The individual pilot is the last line of defense.
My two proposals to end this pattern of fatigue-induced crashes are 1) a UN mandate via the ICAO as I described in the Fly Dubai 981 thread and; 2) a revolution of pilot culture, speaking up, no longer remaining silent on the issue and refusing outright to fly if they feel unfit due to fatigue.
The first proposal could be instated by decree, the second would have to be an organic self-preservation movement within the industry and a moral prerogative.
---------------------------
So, I'd like to hear any other serious ideas on how we can finally do away with the single most dangerous practice in commercial aviation today....
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