A recent study has recommended that pilots receive better training to prepare them for potentially hazardous climatic conditions while airborne
General aviation pilots should be given training to make them more aware of how important the weather is to their safety, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Statistics consistently show that more than 60% of general aviation accidents happen in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), says the NTSB, and it has published the preliminary findings of a study to determine the difference between the pilots who survive certain weather conditions and those who suffered weather-related accidents in the same area on the same day.
The study found that those who start their flying training younger face a lower weather-accident risk, as do those who perform better in their airman knowledge and skill tests. “Periodic training and evaluation may be necessary to ensure pilots maintain weather-related knowledge and skills,” the NTSB says.
Recommendations to the FAA suggest pilots who do not receive recurrent weather training should be instructed and tested in basic practical aviation meteorological knowledge at their biennial flight review.
This would include procurement of the necessary aeronautical route planning weather and forecasts, determination of fuel requirements, planning for alternate airfields, and the recognition of critical weather situations.
Also at the biennial review, pilots who do not receive recurrent instrument training should be checked on basic flight manoeuvres using instruments only, and on recovery from unusual attitudes. Finally the FAA should establish a set of basic meteorological questions that must be answered correctly if a pilot is to pass the airman knowledge test, says the NTSB, and there must be a system for recognising those who underperform to “develop a programme to reduce risk for those pilots”. The board also recommends that some parts of the standard weather briefing format should be supplemented or replaced with graphical data.
“The study’s findings are not surprising to those of us involved in aviation safety education, or to the pilot community at large,” says Bruce Landsberg, executive director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Foundation.
“But the NTSB study does an excellent job of using the data, and as a result, the findings provide more statistical support for the importance of continuing training.” However, AOPA president Phil Boyer says: “The NTSB study itself helps highlight the need for ongoing pilot training, but some of its conclusions raise serious concerns. If the FAA were to implement any of the recommendations, pilots could be faced with burdensome new requirements that might not significantly improve safety.”
Source: Flight International
