European safety authorities are introducing training requirements aimed at reinforcing the ability of pilots to recover from upset scenarios and avoid loss-of-control accidents.
The new requirements, to be mandatory from May 2016, are part of a joint initiative being undertaken by the European Aviation Safety Agency and IATA.
It intends to ensure pilots are more aware and better prepared for a potential upset and that their handling skills are sufficient to prevent a hazardous situation from deteriorating into a loss of control.
Aircraft upsets are normally defined as unintentional deviations from normal flight parameters – including pitch attitudes exceeding 25° nose-up or 10° nose-down, bank angles greater than 45°, or unsuitable airspeeds.
IATA director general Tony Tyler says that loss-of-control accidents are “rare” but that, over the past five years, such events have almost always resulted in fatalities.
The partnership with EASA will “reduce the likelihood” of recurrence, he adds. IATA will develop guidance to support the implementation.
EASA has applied an accelerated procedure to push through the training requirements, citing their importance and the short timeframe for their introduction.
The requirements will help crews “acquire the required competencies” to prevent or recover from in-flight upset, it states.
EASA has laid out an extensive programme of training covering crucial aspects of aerodynamics – among them high-altitude operations, Mach effects, icing and stall awareness – as well as recognition and manual-handling skills.
Threat management should be integrated into the training, says EASA, particularly the “surprise and startle effect”, and emphasis should be placed on the possibility of crews being exposed to somatogravic effects and visual illusions.
Its programme also deals with missed approaches and notes that operators should consider exercises involving limited-thrust go-around procedures, which would reduce the risk of exceeding structural limits and encountering disorientation.
EASA executive director Patrick Ky says that loss of control is a “major area of concern” for aviation safety and needs the “highest priority” of attention.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
