The Wall Street Journal
By Andy Pasztor
Nov. 5, 2013 11:37 a.m. ET
Federal
regulators on Tuesday issued more stringent training and proficiency
requirements for airline pilots to handle stalls, other in-flight upsets
and windy runways.
Describing the changes as the most sweeping
rewrite of airline cockpit training in two decades, Federal Aviation
Administration chief Michael Huerta said the goal is to harness advances
in-flight simulators and other safety practices to ensure pilots can
cope with "rare but potentially catastrophic" emergencies.
The
rules, which become effective in five years, also enhance tracking of
pilots with spotty training records; expand training to prevent using or
crossing incorrect runways; and step up efforts to teach aviators how
to more effectively monitor flight paths and instruments. The FAA
estimates the cost to the industry could be as much as $350 million over
10 years.
Primarily aimed at upgrading training and flight
procedures at some regional carriers, the changes complete the FAA's
last big airline-safety initiative prompted by the high-profile 2009
crash of a Colgan Air Inc. turboprop near Buffalo, N.Y. The regulatory
package had been in the works for years and should make fliers "feel
safer than ever before," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told
reporters at a briefing.
The FAA said it is drafting companion
rules mandating higher minimum standards for makers of
flight-simulators, aiming for more realistic training to help pilots
cope with aerodynamic stalls, when airplanes lose lift. The final rules,
however, left out increased emergency training for flight attendants
and additional oversight of airline dispatchers, concepts included in
the initial proposal two years ago.
The latest version was
modified to reflect recent global hazards such as unreliable airspeed
indicators, which played a central role in some major accidents and
incidents in the past few years. With the changes, all pilots should
"have the skills and the confidence" to react to airborne emergencies,
Mr. Huerta said.
The biggest international killer in commercial
aviation is loss of control by pilots, typically after they are startled
when autopilots disconnect and lose awareness of aircraft systems or
their surroundings.
Overall, the FAA adopted most of the steps
long demanded by lawmakers, outside safety experts and families of crash
victims, particularly those who died in the Colgan Air Flight 3407
accident. But many of the changes and enhancements already are in place,
because mainline carriers typically have been relying on such training
practices and commuter airlines increasingly have voluntarily adopted
the same principles.
Roger Cohen, president of the association
representing regional operators called it "a good example where rule
making has moved to catch up to the continually improving safety
practices in place today at many airlines."
The captain of the
Colgan Bombardier Q400 turboprop mistakenly pulled back sharply on the
controls as the airplane was flying dangerously slow approaching the
airport, instead of pushing forward to lower the nose and increase
airspeed. The result was an aerodynamic stall that killed all 49 aboard
and one person on the ground. Federal crash investigators later
determined that both the airline and the captain had significant
training lapses.
The Colgan accident in February 2009 also
highlighted other problems faced by commuter carriers, including low
salaries, inadequate pilot experience behind the controls and lack of
cockpit discipline.
Starting two years ago, the FAA began
formally revising so-called stall recovery standards for pilots,
training instructors and simulator providers. Since then, various global
industry groups have issued separate guidelines to prevent airline
pilots from flying too slowly or losing control of their aircraft.
Tuesday's announcement mirrors those efforts, but it goes further by
locking in tougher training requirements and subjecting airlines that
don't comply to FAA enforcement.
Mr. Huerta stressed that "we're
encouraging airlines, if they are ready, to implement sooner" than the
five-year compliance deadlines. The FAA chief also disclosed he will
host a meeting in Washington later this month with U.S. airline-safety
leaders to discuss voluntary compliance.
Partly in response to
congressional requirements prompted by the Colgan crash, the FAA
previously issued revised rules intended to prevent pilot fatigue and
increase the minimum experience of co-pilots and captains flying for
scheduled carriers. Compared with the pilot-training rules, those
regulations sparked greater controversy and industry criticism as being
overly expensive.
Meanwhile, the FAA is working on proposed
regulations to improve mentoring of new pilots, set up a reliable,
nationwide database of pilot qualifications and require stepped-up
training to ensure leadership and professionalism among all commercial
aviators. But concerns over cost and other issues have delayed those
proposals.
Both Messrs. Foxx and Huerta credit persistent
lobbying efforts by families representing the victims of Flight 3407 in
helping to get the rules issued. The group said the changes "take pilot
training into the 21st century after nearly 15 years of fits and
starts," and the families praised the FAA for embracing "a fresh
approach to remedial training."
Source: http://online.wsj.com
NTSB Identification: DCA09MA027
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of COLGAN AIR INC (D.B.A. Continental Connection)
Accident occurred Thursday, February 12, 2009 in Clarence Center, NY
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/28/2010
Aircraft: BOMBARDIER INC DHC-8-402, registration: N200WQ
Injuries: 50 Fatal.
NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The Safety Board’s full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-10/01.
On February 12, 2009, about 2217 eastern standard time, a Colgan Air, Inc., Bombardier DHC-8-400, N200WQ, operating as Continental Connection flight 3407, was on an instrument approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, Buffalo, New York, when it crashed into a residence in Clarence Center, New York, about 5 nautical miles northeast of the airport. The 2 pilots, 2 flight attendants, and 45 passengers aboard the airplane were killed, one person on the ground was killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The captain’s inappropriate response to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. Contributing to the accident were (1) the flight crew’s failure to monitor airspeed in relation to the rising position of the low-speed cue, (2) the flight crew failure to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures, (3) the captain’s failure to effectively manage the flight, and (4) Colgan Air’s inadequate procedures for airspeed selection and management during approaches in icing conditions.
http://www.ntsb.gov
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