Learning from Airline Pilots' Mistakes

Learning from Airline Pilots’ Mistakes

Stephen Pope

Thursday, November 07, 2013 at 06:42 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's new airline pilot training rules, a response to the Colgan Air crash, mandate enhanced training in areas like stall/upset recovery and crosswind landings, alongside stricter flight and duty time regulations.
General Aviation (GA) pilots should adopt these lessons by focusing on advanced maneuvering skills in their training and implementing personal rest requirements to avoid flying when fatigued or unwell.
The article emphasizes the importance of quality flight time, advising both airline and GA pilots to hand-fly more frequently to prevent the atrophy of basic airmanship skills due to over-reliance on automation.

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The FAA’s major overhaul of training rules for airline pilots, formally adopted with a new final rule on Tuesday, came as a long-overdue reaction to the deadly Colgan Air Dash-8 Q400 crash in Buffalo, New York, almost five years ago. Earlier changes, also prompted by the Colgan disaster, have altered flight and duty time regulations for airline pilots and increased the minimum number of flight hours to become an airline first officer.

The question GA pilots should be asking is, what can we learn from the FAA and airline industry’s efforts to improve safety? It turns out, quite a lot.