Airlines Put Pilots in a Real Spin in New
Training Initiative
Delta, SAA among airlines worried about erosion of manual-flying skills
A single-propeller stunt plane flies at a recent air show in Florida. Airlines are eager for jetliner pilots to get more experience of extreme flying conditions at the controls of small aircraft.
By ANDY PASZTOR
LE BOURGET, France-The latest trend in training pilots to fly commercial jets features the practicing of extreme maneuvers in small, propeller-powered aircraft.
Using a technique unheard of until recently, carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and South African Airways are sending some of their most experienced flight instructors back to flight school to learn how to recognize and recover from airborne upsets.
The efforts are part of a world-wide trend to step up so-called upset recovery and stall training, prompted by a series of deadly accidents that have raised concerns about an erosion of manual flying skills in the cockpit. Simulators generally are considered less effective at depicting extreme aircraft behavior.
"We wanted our instructors to really understand the concepts" through actual flying experiences, said Brad Bennetts, an Airbus A340 captain who is in charge of the initiative for the South African carrier. "The feedback from pilots has been unbelievably positive."
The focus reflects lessons learned from the June 2009 crash of an Air France Airbus A330 jet in the Atlantic after the crew failed to understand they were in a high-altitude stall. Earlier that year, the crash of a Colgan Air
LE BOURGET, France-The latest trend in training pilots to fly commercial jets features the practicing of extreme maneuvers in small, propeller-powered aircraft.
Using a technique unheard of until recently, carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and South African Airways are sending some of their most experienced flight instructors back to flight school to learn how to recognize and recover from airborne upsets.
The efforts are part of a world-wide trend to step up so-called upset recovery and stall training, prompted by a series of deadly accidents that have raised concerns about an erosion of manual flying skills in the cockpit. Simulators generally are considered less effective at depicting extreme aircraft behavior.
"We wanted our instructors to really understand the concepts" through actual flying experiences, said Brad Bennetts, an Airbus A340 captain who is in charge of the initiative for the South African carrier. "The feedback from pilots has been unbelievably positive."
The focus reflects lessons learned from the June 2009 crash of an Air France Airbus A330 jet in the Atlantic after the crew failed to understand they were in a high-altitude stall. Earlier that year, the crash of a Colgan Air
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