8/2/2019 Ain 2012 State of Training Report

1/3

he world breathed a sigh of reliefas 2011 came to a close; aviationhad experienced two remarkablyars, following 2009, during whichxtraordinary airline accidents

d the publics attention on whatr to be serious lapses in funda-

airmanship. The two accidentsn Air/Continental Connection3407 on Feb. 12, 2009, and Air

e Flight 447 on June 1, 2009arenty ones that uncovered airmanshipms, but they captured the pub-tention in a way that is still hav-erberations. The Colgan accidenticular has led to political action inS. to tighten FAA minimum stan-for Part 121 airline pilots as wellush for increased professionalismegments of aviation.h the Air France and Colgan acci-raised probing questions abouthing as elementary as stall rec-on. Other accidents serve asders of recurring and preventablent scenarios, including the Decem-TBM 700 accident in New Jersey,

ch the pilot appears to have flownn area of reported moderate icingions then lost control and crashed

Morristown, N.J.

Political attention to pilot trainingquality was summarized in the November2010 Government Accountability Office(GAO) report, Initial Pilot Training: Bet-ter Management Controls Are Neededto Improve FAA Oversight. The reportnoted that the most recent six U.S. airlineaccidents involved regional airlines, andin four of those accidents, the NTSB citedpilot performance as a contributory factor.The report examines pilot training in theU.S. and in other countries and the FAAsrole in overseeing pilot training and testing.

Former FAA Administrator RandyBabbitt took up the call for profession-alism. At the Society of Aviation andFlight Educators (Safe) Pilot Train-ing Reform Symposium, held May 5,2011, Babbitt said, I have often wishedI could just mandate professionalism. Wecan make rules to require certain profes-sional behavior, but professionalism is alot more than rule-driven behaviors. Itsa mindset. To use flight instructor terms,professionalism requires application andcorrelation. Its an attitude that drivesyou to do the right thingevery time, allthe time, regardless of whos watching.Its about being a good aviation citizen.

There is widespread concern that somepilots arent being good aviation citizens.

And this behavior, some worry, not onlycauses the same types of accident tooccur over and over again in hundreds ofgeneral aviation crashes every year but isalso a key reason for the decline of gen-eral aviation, poor sales of new aircraft,low levels of flying activity and lack ofinterest in learning to fly.

It was just such questions, in fact,that prompted the Safe Symposium atwhich Babbitt spoke. According to Safe,Throughout 2010, Safe members con-ducted an internal dialogue regardingthe stagnant general aviation fatal acci-dent rate during the preceding decade,as well as the alarming declines in stu-dent pilot starts, retention and comple-tions. We hypothesized that deficienciesin the general aviation pilot training sys-tem were a root cause for all of these phe-nomena. We concluded that Safe shouldinitiate an effort to examine the trainingsystem with the intention of changingpilot training doctrine, standards, curri-cula and instruction methods.

At the other end of the spectrum isthe concern that questionable pilot qual-ity ultimately may result in accidents such

as Colgan, Air France 447 and others. Ifpilots are learning to fly in a substandard,unprofessional and undisciplined fashion,what does this portend for the future ofbusiness and commercial aviation, giventhat the majority of pilots hired to flyprofessionally today have civilian trainingbackgrounds and no military experience?

IS THERE A PROBLEM?

I think weve been in denial on thissubject, said John King, co-founder withhis wife, Martha, of King Schools. BothKings hold almost every airmans cer-tificate and rating possible and fly theirown Falcon 10. The Kings are outspokenabout safety, and John King highlightedtheir feelings in a controversial presenta-tion about what he calls the big lie.

If you deny the seriousness of some-thing youre probably not going to domuch to fix it, he explained. A big lieis one that youve told often enough andlong enough that you believe it yourself.I think that many general aviation pilotstruly believe that general aviation is saferthan driving. The fact is were atrociouslyworse than driving in terms of fatalitiesper mile. We have to overcome the big lie.

In raw numbers, during 2010 generalaviation accidents in the U.S. claimed thelives of 450 people. Thats down from478 in 2009, which may not necessarilybe attributable to improvements in safetyequipment or pilot training and exper-tise. The amount of flying has dropped,too, as evidenced by significant declines inavgas deliveries and also lower numbersof operations at general aviation airports.The 1,435 general aviation accidents dur-ing 2010 were a 20-year low, and the 2010fatalities and number of accidents droppedfor the fourth year in a row. Non-commer-cial general aviation accident rates, how-ever, have climbed to 6.60 per 100,000flight hours in 2009 from 5.78 in 2000.

There is concern, and not just amongthe general aviation industry worrying thataccidents drive away business, but also at

airlines, which stand to inherit pilots withpotentially poor training backgrounds.

The executive in charge of pilot hir-ing at a large U.S. airline (who pre-ferred to remain anonymous so he couldspeak freely) worries about how pilotslearn about a robust safety culture. Inhis experience, most pilots dont becomeacquainted with the concept of a safetyculturea commitment to safety that per-meates an organizationuntil they go towork for an airline or operator that trulytakes safety seriously.

According to the GAO initial pilottraining report, Over time, U.S. pilotschools have become the primary sourcefor producing pilots for the airline indus-try. And this underscores one of the prob-lems facing commercial aviation: findingpilots with the right background and expe-rience. The GAO report notes that the AirLine Pilots Association believes that thereis a wide range of initial training experi-ences, not all of which are well suited forthe airline industry, and this is due to thelack of specific training requirements tobe an airline pilot.

Al Benzing, a retired airline pilot,

learned to fly in a typical general aviationenvironment then earned his multienginerating and airline transport pilot certifi-cate at his first regional airline job. He flewfor another regional before joining themajor airline from which he retired lastyear. A fundamental issue, he observed,is that there are different tracks to train-ing and experiencePart 141 schools, abinitio schools right into [regional jets],military, Part 61, flying freight and so on.Each of these has its strengths and weak-nesses. The more formal schools [militaryand ab initio] are likely more rigorousand cull out poor performers, but I dontknow if even these are adept at ensuringonly those with good judgment and anattitude of safety get through.

Indeed, one would hope those drawnto fly, especially as a commercial pilot,would have a safe attitude from the begin-ning. I think the issue is that some/many/mostdohave this attitude, but the systemdoesnt do a good job of sorting out thosewho dont. While standards vary, if some-one can pass the checkride, perhaps afterseveral attempts, and is paying his bills, heis A-OK at the end of the course.

Most fatal accidents are judgment-related, notes Bruce Landsberg, presidentof the AOPA Foundation, which includesthe Air Safety Institute (ASI). You canovercome any amount of skill with lackof judgment. Landsberg agrees that theColgan and Air France 447 accidents andother typical general aviation accidentswarrant worry about the quality of pilotswho will move up the ranks into profes-sional flying. Absolutely we should beconcerned about future pilots, he said.

But with regard to the Colgan acci-dent, he added, Congress got that allwrong. The problem was you had a cou-ple of pilots who were flat exhausted.And a training program to transition acaptain of questionable skill. What wasmissing from this pilots training, Lands-berg believes, was comprehensive stallawareness training, including flying at

Aviation International News March 2012 www.ainonline.com

Thurber

ILLUSTRATION:JOHNT.LEWIS

GLIDER:PETERPHOTOS/FOTOLIA.COM

JETPILOT:LAMCDN/FOTOLIA.COM

minimum controllable airspeed and per-forming a variety of actual stalls. Wevegot to see how the airplane is going tobehave, he said.

Doug Stewart, a designated pilotexaminer, sees the results of initial pilottraining first-hand during checkridesthat he gives from his base at ColumbiaCounty Airport in Hudson, N.Y. Stew-art also operates a flight school, butspends most of his teaching time help-ing pilots learn how to fly IFR safely.Stewarts primary tool for teaching IFRis a multi-day trip along the East Coast,forcing his clients to fly in and deal withreal-world conditions.

The biggest flaw that Stewart sees inpilots who come to him for checkrides orrecurrency training is a lack of familiar-ity with slow flight and full stalls. Stewarttakes the opportunity to reacquaint thesepilots with fundamentals or even teachbasic concepts, such as issues of stalland angle of attack having nothing to dowith pitch attitude and speed.

During an approach-to-landing stall,Stewart sees over and over the studentpitching the airplane nose up into an

accelerated stall instead of slowly pullingback into the buffet then recovering. Yetwe wonder why a pilot hauls back on thestick and is fighting the stick all the wayto the ground, he said, referring to highlypublicized accidents like Colgan and AirFrance 447. I see that the quality of theinstruction needs to be raised many levels.

Jim Lauerman, who during the nextsix months is transitioning his job aspresident of Avemco Insurance to newlyhired Jonathan Greenway, offers an insur-ers perspective on the question of qual-ity in pilot training. Avemco is the onlyaviation insurer that is both the under-writer of the risk and the seller of poli-cies to end-users, and thus its employeessee first-hand the accidents that clientshave. This mind-numbing consistencyof the causes of losses and the rate of lossis really depressing, he said. We keepthrowing money and regulations [at thesecauses] and never see anything change.

The GAO report concludes, Pub-lic and media concerns about aviationsafety escalated as a result of the Colgancrash in early 2009, and Congress and theFAA have taken steps to improve aviationsafety by making revisions to the trainingrequirements that airlines must provide forairline pilots. Our analysis indicates thatthe FAA has an opportunity to ensurethat the initial pilot training process forproducing pilots commercial certificatesis still relevant for the necessary knowl-edge and skills for airline positions.

But the initial training process needsto be relevant for all pilots, not just air-line pilots. At the 2011 BombardierSafety Standdown last October, humanfactors expert Dr. Tony Kern predicted a400-percent increase in the business avia-tion accident rate unless there are signifi-cant upgrades to pilot training.

In any case, Congress seems not to havetaken the GAOs advice into account, asevidenced by its members proposing leg-islation that could force the FAA to writenew rules mandating that all airline pilots

have at least 1,500 hours of flight time.Both Colgan pilots had more than 1,500hours. I do not believe just going to 1,500hours is sufficient, asserts Jason Blair,executive director of the National Asso-ciation of Flight Instructors. Its a skill-based issue. Blair is a pilot examiner andconducts 80 to 100 checkrides per year.

New rules may be coming. In 2010 theFAA issued an Advance Notice of Pro-posed Rulemaking titled, New PilotCertification Requirements for Air Car-

rier Operations. The notice sought com-ments about the necessity to improvepilot performance and professional-ism standards with specific emphasis ontraining for commercial pilots involved inPart 121 operations.

FIXING THE TRAINING PROCESS

Many parties are working to improvethe flight training process, from FAAoversight, testing changes and safety pro-grams to alphabet groups such as AOPA,Safe and NAFI to large flight academiesand small flight schools. AOPA recentlylaunched the AOPA Flight Training Excel-lence Awards, to encourage best practicesand recognize flight schools and indepen-dent training professionals who put thosepractices to work every day.The NationalAssociation of Flight Instructors offers theMaster Instructor program. The Interna-tional Association of Flight Training Pro-fessionals Best Practices Forum launcheda year ago already has 300 registered mem-bers, and contributions to the website areflowing in. The Safe Pilot Training ReformSymposium held last year has generatedkey focus areas that are being addressed.The AOPA Foundations Air Safety Insti-tute planned to complete research for theFAA-industry General Aviation JointSteering Committee at the end of Febru-ary, which includes a root-cause analysis ofgeneral aviation accidents.

Discussing training issues with vari-ous industry participants identified thefollowing key elements for training toreach a better place.

START WITHQUALITY CANDIDATES

In its study of the initial pilot train-ing process, the GAO notes intriguingdifferences between U.S. and Europeantraining requirements. The basic regula-tory standards arent too different, but inEurope two training methods have devel-oped: the modular system and the inte-grated method. In the former, pilots learn

and progress in stages, by learning thenobtaining each certificate or rating. In thelatter, students attend a formal academicinstitution dedicated to flight training ina multi-crew environment, with the goalof becoming qualified as airline pilots.Of course, there are plenty of flight acad-emies and aviation colleges and universi-ties in the U.S., but the GAO report seesa difference between the two countriesapproaches, in that U.S. pilots train forflying jobs where they can gain additional

experience before hiring on with airlines,while European pilots train with the goalof joining an airline right away.

Whatever the differences in process,there is a key difference in who gets tobecome a pilot under each system. Ofcourse, generally anyone who can pay thecost can become a pilot. But in Europethe cost is so extraordinarily high thatfew people pay their own way just forfun or even for the possibility of a career.To prevent a shortage of qualified pilots,European airlines have had to create asort of apprenticeship program, underwhich sponsors pay for so-called ab ini-tio pilot training. Because sponsorsusually airlinesare paying for training,they have a vested interest in making surecandidates are qualified, and thus theycarefully screen applicants.

As the GAO report notes, Accordingto officials at European airlines, basingselection on fixed standards instead ofselecting candidates influenced by com-mercial pressure assures airlines that theyare training a qualified pilot. In the U.S.,however, the most intensive screeningprocess occurs when pilots seek employ-ment with airlines. The airlines indepen-dently assess candidates work experienceand technical and non-technical skillsbefore hiring.

TEACH THE

FUNDAMENTALS FIRST

Many of the experts interviewed forthis article agree that there is too muchfocus on teaching new pilots about thesystems in their aircraft, such as LCD-based avionics and automated controls.

Given the extraordinary successfulsaves by pilots who have backgrounds fly-ing gliders such as Chesley Sullenbergeror Robert Pearson, some wonder whethernew pilots ought first to learn how to flygliders for a solid grounding in under-standing how every knot of speed andevery foot of altitude is gained, nurtured

www.ainonline.com March 2012 Aviation Intern

TBM 700 N731CMorristown,

(Preliminary NTSB a

tion) The single-engine

ing loss of control. Acco

flying at 17,000 feet ms

he was in icing conditio

climb, and the flight wa

Flight Level 200. The ai

altitude of 17,900 feet a

Before the crash, the

cations took place (as p

Departure: Reports

through 17, but light rim

lem at 14. Ill keep you o

gets worse let me know

handoff Ill climb you an

N731CA: Charlie Al

happens when we get in

go straight through it, t

Center: Attention a

reported at 14 thousand

AC44123: Center, A

severe icing in relation t

Center: All along th

one Im talking to has h

ate, and Ive had one re

I have reports of mode

14 and [unintelligible] s

17reports of modera

climb, extreme reported

moderate up all the way

Bombardier DHCFeb. 12, 2009, Cl

50 fa

(Final NTSB report)

after leveling off during

pilot engaged, the crew

throttles. The autopilot a

and the stick shaker acti

ed by moving the yoke a

The NTSB noted tha

Gulfstream Training Aca

includes flight time in a

Airlines Beech 1900D fl

ger-carrying service. Th

the airline after logging

the academy program.

The airlines training

ing to the NTSB, that he

ing difficulties with airc

during simulator period

captain was graded uns

stalllanding configurat

a satisfactory grade in l

simulator period seven,

airspeed control was un

ments included: Airspe

below Vref + 10. Fly co

10 knots below Vref cro

remains up during enti

deviation from altitude

During simulator pe

noted, Basic attitude fly

deviations, Constant d

glideslope, and Additio

maneuvers were grade

(by the same instructo

an extra ninth simulato

checkride was complete

Continues on next pageu

BERTOLDWERKMANN/FOTOLIA.COM

SPEC

2

012AINPublications.

AllRightsReserved.

ForReprintsgo

towww.a

inonline.c

om.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-13/colgan-q400-crashes-outside-buffalo-50-deadhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-13/colgan-q400-crashes-outside-buffalo-50-deadhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-06-02/aircraft-wreckage-found-rio-paris-flight-pathhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-06-02/aircraft-wreckage-found-rio-paris-flight-pathhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2009-09-29/faa-working-toward-new-level-safety-says-babbitthttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2009-09-29/faa-working-toward-new-level-safety-says-babbitthttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-06-30/pitch-and-power-lessons-air-france-flight-447http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-06-30/pitch-and-power-lessons-air-france-flight-447http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-12-20/turboprop-single-crashes-new-jersey-highwayhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-12-20/turboprop-single-crashes-new-jersey-highwayhttp://www.ainonline.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-12-03/bombardier-safety-standdown-speakers-put-premium-professionalismhttp://www.ainonline.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://www.ainonline.com/http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-12-03/bombardier-safety-standdown-speakers-put-premium-professionalismhttp://fotolia.com/http://fotolia.com/http://www.ainonline.com/http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-12-20/turboprop-single-crashes-new-jersey-highwayhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-12-20/turboprop-single-crashes-new-jersey-highwayhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-06-30/pitch-and-power-lessons-air-france-flight-447http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-06-30/pitch-and-power-lessons-air-france-flight-447http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2009-09-29/faa-working-toward-new-level-safety-says-babbitthttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2009-09-29/faa-working-toward-new-level-safety-says-babbitthttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-06-02/aircraft-wreckage-found-rio-paris-flight-pathhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-06-02/aircraft-wreckage-found-rio-paris-flight-pathhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-13/colgan-q400-crashes-outside-buffalo-50-deadhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-13/colgan-q400-crashes-outside-buffalo-50-dead

8/2/2019 Ain 2012 State of Training Report

2/3

and lost. Sullenberger was at the con-trols when he ditched a US Airways Air-bus A320 into the Hudson River on Jan.15, 2009, saving all 155 people on boardfollowing a double engine failure due toa birdstrike. Pearson glided a Boeing 767into a closed air force base north of Win-nipeg, Manitoba (Canada) after a misfu-eling caused both engines to quit. Gliderpilots learn how to control an airplanethat is almost always flying in slow flightand close to stall speed.

The consensus, however, is that whilegliding training would be beneficial, so

would a strong focus on learning the fun-damentals of flying to perhaps a greaterdegree than is typically taught. And thisearly training ought to be done in simpleairplanes without distracting technologi-cally advanced instrument panels.

One reason why training is unreal-istic is that its geared to pass a check-ride instead of create aviators, notesLauerman.

SHARE BEST PRACTICES

How do we know what works? RobertBarnes has thought a lot about that andearly last year founded the InternationalAssociation of Flight Training Profes-sionals (IAFTP) as a means of sharing

such information. IAFTPs focus is notto establish standards, create a certifica-tion body or even attempt to influenceregulators. Its primary goal is to providea credible, independent, internationalclearinghouse for pilot training best prac-tices that have been developed by flighttraining professionals to respond to indi-vidual pilot or operator needs.

Barnes points out that in his AirForce experience, he became an instruc-tor shortly after learning how to fly, justas happens with civilian instructors. Theproblem isnt young instructors, he said.The problem is the system doesnt expose

young instructors to ways to do anythingother than build hours. There are a lot ofgood instructors out there. Whos help-ing them become better instructors? Inthe Air Force, more experienced instruc-tors helped teach fresh new instructors.Barnes believes that the IAFTP data-base can also help, but it wouldnt hurtto have mentors working with inexperi-enced instructors, too.

IAFTP has also recently added a sec-

ond goal, creation of an electronic cur-riculum vita (eCV), a system that allowsany pilot to maintain a personal trainingrecord throughout his career. The eCVcan be accessed by anyone authorizedby the individual record holder. It haslong been recognized that there should bea way to securely document every pilotsidentity, training, experience and certifi-cations, explains Barnes. It simply hasnever happened. However, if growth pro-

jections for air transport over the next20 years are correct, the need for such asecure and verifiable pilot CV will becomemore critical as employers turn increas-ingly to the worldwide pool of applicantpilots to achieve their staffing goals.

Asked whether the eCV could helpidentify a pilot who repeatedly failscheckrides, Barnes observed that a pilotmight not include that information inhis records, but there would be a recordof having applied to take a checkride.We could record the fact that a studentapplied to have a checkride. Its a fact.Whether he passed or not is immaterial.If he didnt pass, we would have a way torecord that he has scheduled this samecheckride 14 times in a row.

ADDRESS RISKMANAGEMENT/PSYCHOLOGY

After Lauerman saw what KingSchools cofounders John and Martha

King said about the big liethat flying ina general aviation aircraft is safer thanthe drive to the airporthe emailed theKings, asking, Dont we have a duty todo something? Thus began a dialoguethat led to a new program at Avemco,an insurance premium credit for custom-ers who take risk-management coursesoffered by King Schools. Avemco alsofinanced research currently being con-ducted by Dr. Bill Rhodes of AerworthyConsulting, who is studying attitudinalissues and how these can affect accidentrates. Thats becoming a major focus ofour company, Lauerman said.

The goal, he explained, is to try to helpchange our culture. What he means is

changing the way a pilot thinks about fly-ing, being able to resist the psychologicalpressure to take too high a risk, one thatcant be brought to an acceptable level.An example of this is a pilot, typicallymale, who has sold his wife on the idea ofbuying a high-performance single-engineairplane. The closing argument is thatthey can take the kids and visit grandmawhenever they want to. She acquiesces,then the first time the family plans a trip,the weather is poor. The psychologicalpressure not to admit he oversold the air-plane is pretty strong. Think about thedynamic going on there, says Lauerman.

Another scenario has the pilot buyingthe airplane for business, convinced itsgoing to be an airline replacement. If youwant to know youre going to get there,get on an airline. Were just at the begin-ning of this, Lauerman cautions.

Were lousy at evaluating risk,asserts John King. Sometimes we dosomething and dont scare ourselves andthat wasnt too bad. The more times youdo it, the more comfortable you are, but

youre courting disaster every time. Riskmanagement requires training. Thatsexactly what were failing to do.

National Association of FlightInstructors executive director Jason Blairagrees. We have to get the risk-man-agement skills developed to the pointthat people can recognize potential riskand use the decision-making process tominimize risks. Those are fundamentals

that we have to teach in the mostlevels and reinforce later.

There is no process, King Risk management is a process, of thinking, and what we have to an industry is get people to do a

job of risk management because wan absolutely unacceptable fatalityand for many reasons were not to be able to continue in the futurthat fatality rate as we have in the

The answer is to teach people thcess of identifying, evaluating andaging risks. Its a skill thats not intit needs to be trained.

Someone once said you cteach good judgment and logic, rRick Tutt, who operates an indepein-airplane recurrency training sRJ Tutt Aviation, in Stockton,

22 Aviation International News March 2012 www.ainonline.com

SPECIAL REPO

FLY UPSIDE DOWN

Pilots complain that recurrent training gets repetitive. One way to prevent tedious re

tition is to try something new, like emergency maneuver training to help prevent one of

most prevalent accident causes, loss of control.

Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) of Phoenix offers upset training in both Extra 3

aerobatic airplanes and in Level D-certified regional jet simulators. All pilots can benefit frthis training, according to APS president and CEO BJ Ransbury, a former Canadian Arm

Forces F/A-18 and airline pilot. Ransbury is also vice president global integration for

Upset Prevention & Recovery Training Association (UPRTA), which promotes research

standards development.

In an agreement finalized last month, Bombardier is

including with the sale of all Learjets, Challengers and Globals

live upset recovery training provided by APS. The training is

part of Bombardiers Leading Edge program, in turn based

on the companys well received Safety Standdown program.

Pilots of those Bombardier aircraft will receive four flights in

an Extra 300L to expose them to upset and recovery tech-

niques. They will also get upset training in level-D simulators.

In the Extras we teach strategy that applies to a wide

variety of fixed-wing aircraft; in the simulator it is more

tailored to the jets these pilots fly and introduces such ele-

ments as trim and speed brakes, Ransbury told AIN. (Pilots

of Bombardier jets already delivered will be able to takethe training for a price decided case-by-case, according to

Wichita-based Kristen Williams, Safety Standdown program coordinator and manage

the Leading Edge program.)

While Ransbury believes that professional pilots are better able to deal with loss

control because their aircraft are designed with greater redundancy and operate with m

than one pilot, he notes, Once [pilots] are pushed beyond a certain threshold, their

levels are all about the same and nonexistent.

Current pilot licensing training is excellent, Ransbury believes, but when pilots get

an upset situation, they are exiting the envelope of what their training covered. Theyre

taught in that region of flight. And when pilots are thrown into the surprise of an upset t

they have never experienced, they have a tendency to panic.

Techniques that work in normal flying suddenly dont help. This is driven mostly by

psychophysiology of pilots, says Ransbury, who is convinced there would be far fewer lo

of-control accidents if all pilots received initial and recurrent upset recovery training.

before-and-after evaluation of the benefits of upset training, APS found that the aver

success rate for trainees more than doubled, to 97.6 percent from 41.6 percent after tr

ing. Of the participants, 51.4 percent were flight instructors.

Ransbury and UPRTA are working closely with the International Committee for Avia

Training in Extended Envelopes (ICATEE), which is developing a harmonized strategy

develop a roadmap to reduce loss-of-control in-flight accidents.

Loss of control has become the number-one threat to commercial aviation, says Dr. Sun

Advani, ICATEE chairman and member of the Flight Simulation Group of the Royal Aeronau

Society. Advanis company, International Development of Technology, Breda, The Netherla

develops simulator solutions for flight, medical rehabilitation and driving applications.

Ransbury and Advani are developing an iPad app version of the FAAs Upset Reco

Training Aid, which is also available online.

The bottom line, according to Advani, is that all pilots need training in three areas to p

vent loss-of-control accidents: academics (the training aid); exposure to real-life situation

a capable airplane; and simulator training that incorporates accurate scenarios and feedb

so instructors can later review how students moved the controls in reaction to an upset.

uContinued from preceding page

Continues on pag

Military

Academy/university/college

General aviation/FBO/flying club

0% Airline apprenticeship/ab initio

How

DidYouFirstLearntoF

ly?

AIN received 104 responses to a survey

asking pilots about their initial training

experiences. It is interesting to note that

the majority of respondents learned to

fly in a general aviation/FBO/flying club

environment and the majority felt that

their training was professional in terms

of focus on the importance of safety.The results are summarized above. M.T.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-riverhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-riverhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-riverhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-12/bird-remains-us-airways-flight-1549-identified-canada-geesehttp://www.ainonline.com/http://flightsafety.org/files/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdfhttp://flightsafety.org/files/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdfhttp://flightsafety.org/files/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdfhttp://flightsafety.org/files/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdfhttp://www.ainonline.com/http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-02-12/bird-remains-us-airways-flight-1549-identified-canada-geesehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-riverhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-riverhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2009-01-15/us-airways-a320-ditches-hudson-river

8/2/2019 Ain 2012 State of Training Report

3/324 Aviation International News March 2012 www.ainonline.com

SPECIAL REPO

But I think you can remind them thatyou can practice good judgment andthere is logic involved.

KEEP LEARNING

Early in the jet age and the dawn ofcorporate aviation, vast improvements inaccident rates underscored the benefits ofrecurrent simulator training. These bene-fits are also apparent in type-specific train-

ing, and the FAA requirement for a typerating in jets has had a hugely beneficialeffect. Yet there is no type-rating require-ment in the U.S. for turboprops weighingless than 12,500 pounds, which arguablycan be just as complex to operate as a jet.

There is evidence that type-specifictraining is beneficial for turboprop pilots,not just because simulator training isavailable, but more telling is the change inthe accident rate of the Mitsubishi MU-2after the FAA imposed a training require-ment. The training is required by SpecialFAR 108, which mandates specific initial,recurrent and recurrency training, includ-ing ground and flight instruction and thecurriculum content, for any pilot who is

going to fly the MU-2. Since the SFARbecame law (the improvements beganbefore this because training to the newstandard started earlier), there has beenjust one fatal MU-2 accident, a remark-able improvement, and proof that focusedtraining offers significant benefits.

The MU-2 experience not only shows

how type-specific training offers benefits,but perhaps more important, the benefitof regular recurrent training. Look atwhat your friendly airline pilot has to do,says Jonathan Greenway, the new pres-ident of aviation insurer Avemco. Air-line, charter and corporate aviation owesmuch of its excellent safety record notonly to sophisticated simulators but alsoto regular recurrency training.

Doug Stewart, the New York pilot

examiner and instructor and head of theSociety of Aviation and Flight Educators,focuses recurrency training on stall practice,not just ordinary stalls, but circumstancesthat a pilot might encounter. When arethe times you might stall? he asked. Fewpilots think about being heavily loaded, at ahigh density altitude, trying to clear a ridge.Thats where we see accidents.

RJ Tutt Aviation owner Rick Tuttadvocates regular and focused recurrenttraining. Tutts clients fly high-perfor-mance single- and twin-engine aircraft,and part of the reason they train regularlyis because insurance providers require it.

To improve the GA accident rate, hesaid, I would instill a discipline of train-

ing more than the FAA-mandated every-other-year biennial flight review. The onehour of ground and one hour of flightinstruction, with no specific requirementsfor what must be covered, can be cursoryat best. A lot of this is economic-driven.The only reason people train with me andmy school colleagues is because [the train-ing is] insurance company mandated.

[Flying] is just the law of physics,he emphasizes. Were constantly stu-dents of the law of physics and have to bereminded now and again.

CHANGE THE PROCESS

Jim Lauerman, retiring president ofaviation insurer Avemco, is encouraged

by a recent development: low-cost flightsimulators based on simple computers,visual displays and even motion capa-bility, like those built by Redbird FlightSimulations of Austin, Texas. I thinklow-cost simulators are the next quan-tum leap in addressing [training] issues,he said. With the cost of fuel and insur-ance, an airplane is a terrible classroom.Eventually the FAA is going to have toget on board and recognize the value [ofthese low-cost simulators].

Jerry Gregoire, founder and chair-man of Redbird, is one of the pioneersof low-cost simulators, many of whichrun on a commercial version of Micro-softs Flight Simulator software. The

Redbird devices replicate actual avion-ics, including systems such as GarminsG1000 and Rockwell Collinss Pro Line21, right down to the knobs and switches.They also closely match the performanceof various aircraft, from simple Cessna172s to more complex Beech King Airs.Redbird simulators with motion basesstart at about $60,000 without controlloading or $67,000 with loading (whichprovides control feedback to the pilot).Redbird also sells a desktop flight train-ing device that replicates G1000 avionicsand includes landing gear and controlla-ble-pitch propeller for $7,995. The King

Air simulators were built for an FAA con-tract and cost more.

Last November, Gregoire cut the rib-bon on a bold venture, an investment inproving out his ideas about how to fixflight trainingThe Redbird Skyport atSan Marcos Airport south of Austin,Texas. The Skyport is changing the wayflight training is delivered in a typical gen-eral aviation setting.

One of the changes that the Skyport is

implementing includes employing salariedflight instructors. This is a completely dif-ferent model for compensation, Gregoiresaid. Theyre not paid by the flight hour.Were not looking for people who want tobuild hours and go to the airlines.

The Skyport is using a curriculumdeveloped by King Schools, which is sim-ulator-centric. For example, before tryinga maneuver like steep turns in the air-plane, the student will learn how to do it inthe simulator. Redbird, Cessna and KingSchools worked together to develop theGuided Independent Flight Training (Gift)system, which monitors the progress of thestudent during a simulated maneuver andhelps the student improve with repetitive

practice. Students also get extra help withradio work, by using Redbirds new ParrotATC simulation. Parrot provides location-centric controller communications and isespecially helpful for students whose firstlanguage is not English.

Students can fly a Skyport simulator anytime one is available. The cost is includedin the package price for a certificate or rat-ing, so there is no hourly cost disincentiveto discourage students from practicing asmuch as they would like. Students are alsousing the simulators, especially RedbirdsXWind crosswind trainer, in contests to seewho can achieve the best score.

As of early this year, the Skyport hadalready booked $1.4 million worth of

business, but that isnt close to reachingthe schools capacity. The schools fleetstarted with four new Cessna 172s and itis taking delivery of a new Piper Seminoleat the Sun n Fun show later this month.

While Gregoire is delighted with theSkyport so far, he also recognizes thatchanging the flight training system cantbe done instantly. Our instructors have atendency to fall back on the old methods.Its a bit of a shock for everybody. Werelearning a lot. But on the whole, Gregoirebelieves that the Skyport will help not onlydeliver more competent pilots but improveretention of people who start flying aswell. One example of howto keep students happy is

providing hot meals atthe Skyport instead ofleaving students to fig-ure out how to grab somefood on their own.

Gregoire is convincedthat low-cost simula-tion will help instruc-tors deliver better pilotsfrom ab initio throughinstrument, commercialand multiengine. Oneof the ideas being testedat the Skyport is whatGregoire calls the Jim

Lauerman series. He credits the reAvemco president with doing a

job impressing on me where accare happening.

Skyport instructors have creaseries of flights to evaluate decisioning skills, including hot and highoffs, flying into bad weather and dwith thunderstorms and a sudden efailure just after takeoff. We donview it for them. In the case of theing around to try to get back, we cthem dont do it until youre at 50But when they take off in the simand [lose] the engine at 300 feet, wetell them anything. If they try totheyre going to crash, which is defnot what you want to do. Imagine able to do these things to people?

Airbus A330, Air France Flight 447,June 1, 2009, Atlantic Ocean,

228 fatalities

(Final report not yet published. The

following is from the third preliminary report

by the French Bureau dEnqutes et dAnalyses

[BEA] and an article by Jeff Wise, published by

Popular Mechanicson Dec. 6, 2011, based on

the book Erreurs de Pilotage, Volume 5, written

by Jean-Pierre Otelli. The book claims to include

the full transcript from the accident airplanes

cockpit voice recorder.)

The A330 is seconds away from impacting the

surface of the ocean. (All systems are now oper-

ating normally, although its likely the flight con-

trols are operating in alternate law mode because

of the earlier pitot icing problems. In alternate law,

stall protection is not provided in the fly-by-wire

control system.) The pilot in the left seat push-

es forward on his stick, and according to the BEA,

this triggers the stall warning because the air-

speed had dropped below the horn trigger lev-

el. The Airbus averages control input between two

pilots who are manipulating the sidesticks, and

at one point both pilots are moving their controls

simultaneously, but in opposite directions.

From the BEA: The angle of attack, when

it was valid, always remained above 35

degrees. Less than three seconds before

impact, the right-seater says, But Ive had the

stick back the whole time! According to the

French BEA, the last recorded values were a

vertical speed of -10,912 fpm, a groundspeed

of 107 knots, pitch attitude of 16.2 degrees

nose-up, roll angle of 5.3 degrees left and a

magnetic heading of 270 degrees. M.T.

uContinued from page 22 The Pilot Source Study

One result of the Colgan accident wa

the FAAs issuance of an Advance Notice

Proposed Rulemaking titled New Pilot C

tification Requirements for Air Carrier O

erations. The ANPRM asks, Are aviatio

pilot graduates from accredited aviation

university degree programs likely to hav

a more solid academic knowledge base

than other pilots hired for air carrier ope

tions? A Pilot Source study conducted five universities, six regional airlines, the

Aviation Accreditation Board Internation

and the University Aviation Association

tempts to answer this question.

The Pilot Source study analyzed the pe

formance of 2,156 pilots hired by the six a

lines from 2005 to 2009. Two key question

were addressed: the characteristics of tho

pilots and how those characteristics relate

to their success during training at the airli

where they went to work. Training outcom

were measured by extra training events re

quired before initial operating experience

(IOE) and whether pilots completed IOE.

The study found that while a college d

gree didnt make much difference in extratraining required, having an aviation col-

lege degree resulted in fewer extra training

events and fewer IOE non-completions. Pi

lots who had advanced flight training in co

giate programs had better results than pilo

trained in both Part 141 and 61 non-colle-

giate programs. Pilot background showed

interesting result: pilots with flight instruct

certificates did better than pilots with prev

corporate or airline flying experience. M.

http://www.ainonline.com/http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/ohio-mu-2-accident-claims-fourhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-04/avionics-update-garmin-g1000-cockpit-makes-debut-oshkoshhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-04/avionics-update-garmin-g1000-cockpit-makes-debut-oshkoshhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-04/avionics-update-garmin-g1000-cockpit-makes-debut-oshkoshhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-04/avionics-update-garmin-g1000-cockpit-makes-debut-oshkoshhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/ohio-mu-2-accident-claims-fourhttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2010-01-27/new-training-mu-2-reduces-accident-ratehttp://www.ainonline.com/