Live from APATS: Mitch Fox on UPRT, Flight Path Management, and Safety Priorities in Asia-Pacific

At APATS 2025, Mitch Fox, Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Aviation Safety, delivered a compelling call to action on aviation safety in the region. His focus: the implementation of Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) and the emerging importance of flight path management.

“Loss of control in flight accidents are rare, but when they do occur, they’re typically fatal,” Fox explained. “Between 2017 and 2023, they accounted for about half of the fatalities in the region.”

While 87% of airlines have made commendable progress in implementing UPRT, Fox identified three key challenges:

• Lack of regulatory guidance to standardise curricula
• Difficulty in keeping pace with simulator capabilities
• A steady degradation of manual flying skills

Fox also introduced the concept of flight path management, encompassing manual flight skills, pilot monitoring, automation management, and energy management — areas he believes require collaborative development of regional guidance.

Watch the full interview to hear Mitch Fox’s insights and his call for industry-wide cooperation to advance safety standards across Asia-Pacific.