‘One shift, one aircraft type’

Mumbai: India’s aviation regulator has found that pilots flying more than one type of aircraft in one duty shift are prone to accidents.
As a result, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a draft on April 30 asking airlines not to roster pilots in more than one type of aircraft in a duty cycle. For instance, a pilot who has flown a Boeing 737 aircraft on a route should not be asked to fly an Airbus 320 in the same shift.
“It is plain logic. You will struggle to drive a Mercedes soon after driving a Maruti,” said Nasim Zaidi, director, DGCA.
Airlines and other stakeholders will have to respond to the draft with suggestions by the end of May.
The regulator’s accident assessment team found that often pilots have to fly different types of aircraft in a single 10-hour shift. In such cases the pilots struggle to adjust to different cockpits and controls.
“We have come across two cases wherein the cause of the accident was the pilots lack of training to handle different cockpits,” said a member of the team requesting anonymity.
08/05/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General May 2010, Safety May 2010