A few thoughts on the latest airliner disappearance:
First and foremost I cannot imagine the anguish suffered by the families and friends of those who are missing in this latest mystery, or the tragedies of MH370, MH017 or any other loss in the air, on land or at sea - it must be unbearable. We owe it to them to keep working on solutions.
Every day hundreds of flights safely criss-cross the area where QZ8501 disappeared from contact; severe convective weather extending into the tropopause is commonplace; it is far from unusual for pilots to request a lateral deviation to avoid the worst of weather radar returns; weather radar is good but not perfect at detecting the most severe turbulence; it is not unusual for pilot requests to change level to be denied due to other traffic. These are just some points to bear in mind.
Once again we don't know exactly where the aircraft has ended up. There are simple, cheap and off-the-shelf real time aircraft tracking devices available right now. The international tracking task force established in the wake of MH370 has failed to recommend any global tracking solution.
There is an increasing concern within the industry that pilots are losing their ability to cope with the extremes of their aircraft's flight envelope and in particular the approach to stall. This is echoed by a similar concern with their ability to manage flight instrument failures, which may exacerbate the former. A recent FBW AD from Airbus reflects this concern. Pilot training clearly no longer fulfils its purpose.
I hope we can meet our obligations to the victims and their families without any more delay.
First and foremost I cannot imagine the anguish suffered by the families and friends of those who are missing in this latest mystery, or the tragedies of MH370, MH017 or any other loss in the air, on land or at sea - it must be unbearable. We owe it to them to keep working on solutions.
Every day hundreds of flights safely criss-cross the area where QZ8501 disappeared from contact; severe convective weather extending into the tropopause is commonplace; it is far from unusual for pilots to request a lateral deviation to avoid the worst of weather radar returns; weather radar is good but not perfect at detecting the most severe turbulence; it is not unusual for pilot requests to change level to be denied due to other traffic. These are just some points to bear in mind.
Once again we don't know exactly where the aircraft has ended up. There are simple, cheap and off-the-shelf real time aircraft tracking devices available right now. The international tracking task force established in the wake of MH370 has failed to recommend any global tracking solution.
There is an increasing concern within the industry that pilots are losing their ability to cope with the extremes of their aircraft's flight envelope and in particular the approach to stall. This is echoed by a similar concern with their ability to manage flight instrument failures, which may exacerbate the former. A recent FBW AD from Airbus reflects this concern. Pilot training clearly no longer fulfils its purpose.
I hope we can meet our obligations to the victims and their families without any more delay.
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