A select group of stakeholders explored pilot skill decay at the first CAT Leader Forum Workshop. Capt. Jacques Drappier provides a report on the findings of the group discussion.
Watch our expert panel of Capt. Tanja Harter, European Cockpit Association, Capt. Martin Mahoney, Emirates, Capt. Carl Haslem, Resilient Pilot and Capt. Helen Heenan, KURA Human Factors discuss the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on pilot skills. Webinar hosted by Capt. Jacques Drappier.
We kicked off our new CAT Leader Forum series with a webinar discussion about pilot skills decay. With endorsement from Resilient Pilot, our expert panel offered valuable insight, and a combined, evidence-based view of the impact of Covid-19 on Pilot Skill Fade.
In collaboration with EASA, Halldale Group recently hosted a Heads of Training (HoT) interactive online workshop with about 40 leaders from airlines, aviation training organisations, and academia. EATS Chair Capt. Jacques Drappier provides a summary of the workshop’s highlights.
Watch the latest episode in our Restarting The Engines series with Capt Jacques Drappier, Capt. Philip Adrian and Mark Dransfield FRAeS discussing the use of FFS, FTD and other new technologies.
Rewatch the first of our new series of online discussions regarding current training and simulation issues and best practices across civil aviation, military, healthcare and other safety-critical industries.
When the global lockdown started in March, more than half of the world airline fleet was parked in all kinds of remote locations. Somewhere around 17,000 airliners waiting for better times. And while the planes were parked, many flight simulators were also empty. Jacques Drappier analyses their symbiotic future.
With the gradual opening of national borders, airlines are slowly restarting operations and resuming routes. We have now reached the point that the operational fleet outnumbers the parked fleet, according to consultancy firm Cirium – around 39% parked versus 61% operational.
We will, however, never see all recently operational aircraft back in the sky. A shared view among leading experts is that 3500 to 5000 planes will never leave the desert. For some types, it is a retirement that was already announced but has now advanced a few years because of the reduced demand. For others, such as the A380, it is a shocking retirement after less than 10 years of activity.
For the airlines, it is a balancing act: the reduced demand for years to come, the commitment for new planes they have ordered, fuel prices, heavy maintenance checks due in the next months or years – all variables that can influence the decision to keep or discard a plane, or a whole fleet.
There is plenty of speculation about when airlines around the world will begin to ramp up operations again. No one yet knows when or how the resumption will play out. A major factor will be opening of borders by different nations; some countries in Europe have indicated they may not re-open until September or October, even to traffic from other EU countries. In general, though, domestic markets, especially in China and the US, are expected to gather momentum initially. International travel may come later. Passenger willingness to fly is also an unknown, and will hinge on not only ticket prices but perceived cleanliness of airports and aircraft.
When airlines begin to restart their engines, there will be several challenges, including training.
The majority of airlines’ fleets are parked in what is considered “short-term storage,” many filling up airport gates, taxiways and even runways, with the expectation of returning to service within 3-6 months. It can take as long as a week to get an aircraft “preserved,” removing fluids, installing protective casings, etc., followed by routine maintenance each month: fluid checks, idling engines to charge batteries, checking flight controls, inspecting anti-icing systems, towing with a tractor so tyres don’t get flat spots, making sure birds or insects haven’t built nests in vents.
Cabin crew re-training will also be affected. This is mostly done in house by the airline, but the numbers are large (perhaps 6-8 times as many, compared with pilots). They will need refresher and likely some additional training to cope with the “new normal” sanitary procedures.
With the appropriate steps to improve the sanitary situation in airports and aboard aircraft, airlines around the globe are looking to restart passenger activity. The way forward is unclear, and indeed not easy.
