Dozens of U.S. airline pilots have reported making “mistakes” because they are “rusty” after returning to the sky after months of blockade due to the pandemic, a NASA surveillance dog has reported.
Air travel has been the lowest demand in decades as a result of COVID-19, which stopped many international flights while countries tried to curb the virus.
Now the pilots returning to the captain’s seat have told NASA’s air safety reporting system that they have made dozens of mistakes since May because they are out of practice.
Mistakes include forgetting to disable the parking pause on takeoff, making three attempts to land the plane on a windy day, choosing the wrong runway, and forgetting to turn on the antifreeze mechanism that prevents freezing of airplanes. altitude and air speed sensors.
So far, no incidents of out-of-practice pilots have been reported that have caused accidents that have injured passengers.
Although aviation experts say they are confident in flight safety, they warn of the need for pilots to return to work after months out to receive additional training sessions, and some US airlines are beginning to provide it. .
Dozens of pilots have told NASA’s anonymous air safety notification system that they have made “mistakes” to be “rusty” as a result of fewer flights during the pandemic. The photo shows a Boeing 767-323 cargo plane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on January 13, 2021. It is unclear which airlines flew the pilots
Aviation experts say they rely on the skills of pilots and airlines to provide them with additional training after months of blockade
An officer, who did not activate his defrost system, told NASA’s watchdog, “Because it hadn’t flown in a few months, it was rusty. I felt my memory was strong enough, but I actually should of having taken a while to revise the standard operating procedures, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Another pilot accidentally climbed to land on the wrong runway, while a different pilot accidentally disconnected the autopilot and a first officer made an unusually steep turn after misreading the instruments in the cockpit.
In each case, the pilots and first officers blamed the mistakes for being out of practice.
In September, a first officer on a commercial plane reported that he had misjudged the distance to the runway during a landing and that it had caused the plane to descend too low. Instead of aborting the landing and circling the airport to try it out (the safest option), the first officer made last-minute adjustments to land.
“Factors that contributed included light turbulence that required constant power adjustments,” the first officer said.
They added: “Also, the lack of recent flight time due to the low, this was my first approach / landing in several weeks, plus a very limited flight time in the last six months.”
During an incident in October, when a pilot forgot to disconnect from the car park, they said it had been ‘40 days since my last flight ’.
They added: “We want less, so we need to be even more attentive. Better attention to detail.
NASA Air Safety Reporting System it was developed so that pilots and other airline crew members could report anonymously on mechanical failures and human errors without fear of retaliation from aircraft manufacturers or airline management.
Domestic and international flights plummeted and, in the case of some destinations, ceased completely last year. Lead many pilots to feel out of practice once back in the air. The image shows a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on January 13, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits pilots from flying a commercial jet unless they have made three takeoffs and three landings, either on an airplane or in a simulator, during the previous 90 days.
Airline experts have long recognized that when pilots are inactive for long periods, their skills dwindle rapidly and they are prone to making mistakes, such as flying too fast or too high during a landing or forgetting to authorization of the air traffic control tower before descending to lower altitudes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits pilots from flying a commercial jet unless they have made three takeoffs and three landings – on a plane or simulator – in the past 90 days.
But the FAA amended that requirement twice last year, giving pilots more leeway, though so far no U.S. airline has reported that a pilot has to use it.
In April and May, the number of daily takeoffs in the United States fell to 75% below pre-pandemic levels.
In recent months, the number of takeoffs has risen to 43% below pre-pandemic times, according to industry data.
As a result, some pilots have returned to work after being out for up to four months.
Last week Delta Air Lines announced that it planned to recover some 400 pilots for the summer in the hope that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines would increase travel demand.
Aviation experts say there are enough backup systems on modern passenger planes to prevent minor oversights from turning into serious accidents.
Richard G. McSpadden Jr., senior vice president of the Air Safety Owners Association of Aircraft Owners Association, said, “The key to flying safely is frequency. You’re not so sharp if you haven’t flown for one time.
However, the International Air Transport Association, a trade group of the world’s airlines, reported a sharp rise in the spring in the rate of aircraft performing “unstable approaches,” which typically occur when pilots attempt land at too high a speed or without enough thrust. and must make last-minute adjustments.
The airline reported that the rate of “unstable approaches” went from 13 or 14 per 1,000 flights before the pandemic to more than 35 per 1,000 in May.
The problem of unstable approaches increased at airports around the world in the spring and summer of 2020, the group said, but the rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels in recent months.
But many experts say they don’t care. Kenneth P. Byrnes, chair of the flight training department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said commercial passenger planes always fly with a pilot and a co-pilot to reduce the pilot’s chances of error.
He said: “I am comfortable with the safety requirements. I don’t think there is an imminent danger.”
Mark Searle, global director of safety for the International Air Transport Association, said he is confident pilots are in addition to their need for more training.
“If they comply with the standard operating procedures we practice, I don’t think there is any problem,” he said.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has recently offered a series of videos on its website to help out-of-practice pilots improve their flight skills.
The series includes tutorials on using the radio to communicate with an air traffic control tower and tips for getting a smoother landing.
American Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the world, was also concerned that pilots were out of practice, so it began reviewing its pilot performance data more frequently.
Data from the 2020 pilots showed no loss of consciousness, said Kimball Stone, senior vice president of flight operations at American Airlines.
“There has been no degradation of skills,” he said.