Page 20 - Forum-2021-JanToMarch

cess is to develop a competency-based The following section highlights the in- occurred prior and after Public Law 111-
program that will attend to academic vestigative process and outcomes for the 216 have suggested that flight hours are
and regulatory requirements and that selected accidents. not a good predictor of pilot’s perfor-
are in alignment with the major aviation mance.
stakeholders’ standards and recommen- Pilot Competencies and Aviation In another example, an Airbus A300-
dations. It is important to note that a 600, operating as UPS Flight 1354,
competency-based degree will require Safety crashed short in August 2013 during a
graduates to demonstrate proficiency in The global aviation industry is moving nonprecision approach to Runway 18 at
competencies that are valued by the avi- toward EBT and rigorous assessment Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Internation-
ation and aerospace industries. There- and assurance of pilot competencies al Airport in Birmingham, Alabama. The
fore, this will be beneficial for both the throughout their training, regardless aircraft was damaged beyond repair by
graduates as well as the industry. of the accumulated flight hours. The impact forces and a postcrash fire. Both
aim of the EBT program is to identify, flightcrew members were killed as a re-
develop, and evaluate the competencies sult. The board highlighted several issues
Aircraft Accident Investigation required to operate safely, effectively, and associated with poor decision-making
Process efficiently in a commercial air transport and communication processes by the
Human errors have been implicated in environment while addressing the most flightcrew members and inadequate
more than 80% of aircraft accidents. relevant threats according to evidence leadership by the captain. The final
However, those errors should be viewed collected in aircraft mishaps, flight oper- report indicated several safety recom-
from a systemic perspective since ex- ations, and training. mendations in which some called for
pressions such as procedural violations, In 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407, a improved communication processes by
human errors, and/or poor CRM will Bombardier DHC-8-400, crashed dur- flight crews.
have limited value in preventing future ing an instrument approach to Buffalo The FAA has mandated CRM for Part
mishaps. Latent conditions arising Niagara International Airport in Buffalo, 121 operators since 1998. The CRM
in the managerial and organizational New York, killing two pilots, two flight at- training provided by air carriers general-
sectors frequently facilitates a breach (or tendants, 45 passengers, and a person on ly includes concepts such as leadership,
breaches) of the complex aviation sys- the ground. The NTSB identified several communication, decision-making, and
tem’s inherent safety defenses. In simpler issues associated with the pilots’ deci- threat-and-error management. CRM
terms, latent conditions often permit or sion-making, teamwork, and communi- training has enhanced aviation safety
even motivate unsafe acts by the flight cation processes. The report emphasized and efficiency. Nevertheless, aircraft
crew (and other aviation professionals). poor leadership by the captain as a fac- accidents and incidents in which inad-
According to ICAO, the accident tor in this mishap. The board members equate CRM processes are identified as
investigation process is comprised of suggested that leadership training for contributing factors still occur. There
three phases: data collection, data anal- upgrading captains could both standard- is no empirical evidence to support the
ysis, and presentation of findings. The ize and reinforce the leadership com- claim that more flight hours will make
data collection process should focus on petency of a pilot-in-command during a pilot safer and/or more efficient. For
obtaining data relevant to the accident, air carrier operations. Lastly, the board example, the captain and the first officer
which will include human factors. The issued two safety recommendations cov- of Colgan Air Flight 3407 had 3,379 and
data analysis should be concurrently ering leadership training for upgrading 2,244 total flying time, respectively.
conducted with the data collection captains at 14 Code of Federal Regula- Similarly, the captain and the first officer
process. The analysis of data frequently tions Part 91K, 121, and 135 operators. of UPS Flight 1354 had 6,406 and 4,721
triggers additional needs that require The Colgan accident became a major flight hours, respectively.
further data collection. During those two catalyst of significant changes in the U.S. Aircraft design and reliability as well
phases investigators should scrutinize aviation industry, mostly focusing on as flight education and training have
whether errors and/or violations by flight crew training and qualifications. steadily and significantly improved in
the pilots suggest deficiencies in nec- The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation the last 20 years. Nevertheless, high-pro-
essary knowledge, abilities, and skills Administration Extension Act (Public file accidents still occur, even when the
for efficient and safe job performance. Law 111-216), passed in 2010, requires aircraft and related systems are operat-
Moreover, investigators should assess if pilots to hold an airline transport pilot ing adequately along with experienced
identified flaws in pilot competencies (ATP) certificate in order to be hired by pilots. For instance, controlled flight into
result from training inadequacies. a U.S. air carrier. In order to possess an terrain, runway incursions, and loss of
When the active failures and latent ATP certificate, pilots must be 23 years control in flight are mishaps in which
conditions have been identified, the old and have at least 1,500 flight hours. inadequate decision-making, poor lead-
safety investigators should elaborate This rule, however, allows some age ership and/or teamwork, and ineffective
safety recommendations to prevent the and flight-hour reductions for specific communication processes are frequently
reoccurrence of similar accidents. It is military and FAA-approved post-sec- cited as contributing factors. Interest-
important to note that safety recom- ondary academic experiences. Currently, ingly, pilots involved in the mentioned
mendations will generally address any this law has created major challenges accidents were arguably experienced.
possible combination of three factors: for airlines to find and hire qualified Conversely, the investigation of acci-
training, technology, and regulations. pilots. Notwithstanding, accidents that dents, for example, US Airways Flight

20 • January-March 2021 ISASI Forum