The cause of the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501 is still to be ascertained, with inclement weather currently suspected to have be responsible, but questions are now being raised about whether Asia's rapidly expanding airlines are going easy on safety regulations in order to cater to the growing demand for flights.
Questions are being raised on the enforcement of air safety standards followed in Indonesia, from where QZ8501 began its flight, and whether the airlines have adequately qualified pilots to fly the rapidly growing fleets.
An analysis in Bloomberg Businessweek raises doubts over whether the pilot of the missing aircraft had adequate experience to fly the aircraft to the height that he had sought permission from the Air Traffic Controller to do and points to the fact that some low cost carriers may be overworking the limited number of pilots that they have. Pilot error is also suspected to be the cause of the ill fated Air India crash in Mangalore in 2010 in which a Serbian pilot failed to act on his co-pilot's warnings while the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 is also suspected to be the result of the pilot's actions.
A Wall Street Journal report notes that most Asian countries don't have the number of schools to provide airlines with pilots and airlines turn to expatriate pilots from Europe and US to fill the gap, but open the possibility for greater error. It also notes that even QZ8501 had a French co-pilot with a Indonesian captain and the integration of diverse cockpit crews is often a "big management challenge". it is also not certain that the airlines in their rush to meet demand are able to ensure it takes place.
However, apart from the functioning of airlines, the incident also places the spotlight uncomfortably on Indonesia's not so stellar record on air safety.
30/12/14 First Post
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Questions are being raised on the enforcement of air safety standards followed in Indonesia, from where QZ8501 began its flight, and whether the airlines have adequately qualified pilots to fly the rapidly growing fleets.
An analysis in Bloomberg Businessweek raises doubts over whether the pilot of the missing aircraft had adequate experience to fly the aircraft to the height that he had sought permission from the Air Traffic Controller to do and points to the fact that some low cost carriers may be overworking the limited number of pilots that they have. Pilot error is also suspected to be the cause of the ill fated Air India crash in Mangalore in 2010 in which a Serbian pilot failed to act on his co-pilot's warnings while the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 is also suspected to be the result of the pilot's actions.
A Wall Street Journal report notes that most Asian countries don't have the number of schools to provide airlines with pilots and airlines turn to expatriate pilots from Europe and US to fill the gap, but open the possibility for greater error. It also notes that even QZ8501 had a French co-pilot with a Indonesian captain and the integration of diverse cockpit crews is often a "big management challenge". it is also not certain that the airlines in their rush to meet demand are able to ensure it takes place.
However, apart from the functioning of airlines, the incident also places the spotlight uncomfortably on Indonesia's not so stellar record on air safety.
30/12/14 First Post
