Sir - The editorial "Admit it" (Flight International, 13-19 November, 1996) identifies shortcomings in the legal minimum standards for airline-pilot training, and advocates the inclusion of crew-resource management (CRM) and error management as crucial to a radically revised training system.
The solution lies not in CRM alone, important though it is, but in the fundamental quality and type of training - particularly the acquisition of traditional airmanship, which consists of the full range of professional disciplines: handling ability, technical and operational knowledge, leadership, situational awareness, CRM and learning from experience.
To achieve these skills, rigorous and well-researched selection must be followed by flight and ground training of the highest quality. Cost, although important, must not be the governing factor - adequate resources should be reserved for the fundamentals of basic handling skills, particularly in recurrent training. Reports of recent accidents indicate that advances in flightdeck technology reinforce, rather than reduce, the need for basic airmanship.
Many operators still meet only minimum regulatory standards for training. It is incumbent on those at the forefront of the aviation industry to set an example of their commitment to safety as the highest priority by an uncompromising approach to the training of their pilots,.
CHARLES EVERETT
Chairman
Education and Training Committee
Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators
London, UK
Source: Flight International
