AI Women’s Day promotee pilot behind tail strike

The Air India commander who piloted the aircraft that had a tail strike while landing at Mumbai airport on Monday was, by all accounts, not proficient enough for the job. Promoted a few weeks ahead of Women's Day despite a poor track record, there are allegations that this was a gender-related concession.
On Monday, Air India's Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight AI614 was seconds away from touchdown when its tail hit the runway, causing considerable damage to the aircraft. That the tail of an A319 aircraft should hit the runway when landing has come as a shock to the aviation industry. Unlike other aircraft such as the A321 or the B737-800, an A319 is comparatively shorter and consequently, its nose has to be heavily pitched up for its tail to strike the ground. "It is close to impossible to do a tail strike on aircraft like A319 and B737-600 because of the short fuselage length," said Capt M Ranganathan, an air-safety expert.
Said a source: "After the descent when the aircraft is over the runway, its nose is pitched upwards at an angle of about seven degrees. In this case, the angle was as high as 18 degrees.'' This detail will be confirmed only after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) investigation into the accident is complete.
"There are standard operating procedures for every flight process, and a slight deviation from them due to improper pilot training can lead to a disaster," civil aviation minister Ajit Singh told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday.
14/03/12 Manju V/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India Mar 2012, airports Mar 2012, Safety Mar 2012