Pilots play with lives by flying manually for 'ultimate kick'

New Delhi: Soaring in the sky, pilots at times switch off the automation instruments in the cockpit to fly the aircraft manually. Sounds bizarre! The truth is that they do it to get that 'ultimate kick'. In the process, they compromise on passenger safety.
Though 'raw data flying' (the technical term for manual flying) is not prohibited, pilots are not exposed to manual flying, which is normally carried out only on a simulator.
It is done to train pilots in case the computerised systems in the cockpit fail.
Pilots of various airlines have been found violating the parameters of standard flying procedures.
While a senior commander of a private airline admitted that pilots do go for 'raw data flying', Air India director (flight safety) has gone a step ahead and issued a circular cautioning the pilots.
The Air India circular stated that there were cases of 'parameter excedence' and advised pilots to stick to the standard operating procedures.
There have been more than 40 incidents when flying parameters were breached, said an official familiar with monitoring flight data recorders (FDR).
About two- three years ago, an Indian Airlines aircraft had deviated from its flight path and moved towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan prompting the official carrier to issue an alert. The incident happened because the co-pilot was flying manual.
An Air India pilot admitted that during 'raw data flying', parameters have been violated.
For example, while landing at the IGI airport, the normal rate of descent of an aircraft should be around 700 ft per minute. But it could shoot up to 2000 ft per minute during manual handling, thereby endangering passenger safety, the pilot stated.
04/04/10 Ajmer Singh/Mail Today/India Today

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Categories: Safety Apr 2010