Aviation, Germanwings, Pilot Trustworthiness
Please see here for Part I and here for Part II of this series. Today’s post is the last. When I viewed Slide 8 of Lufthansa’s presentation to the NTSB, my curiosity was piqued by the length of the various stages in their ab initio pilot training program leading to a Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL.) … Continue Reading
Aviation, Germanwings, Pilot Trustworthiness
In this blog post I discussed the amazingly low attrition rate of Lufthansa’s ab initio (from the beginning) pilot training program. Today, something a little different: the change that has ensued in the actual flying portion of pilot training. In 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) created a new qualification, the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL). … Continue Reading
Aviation, Germanwings, Pilot Trustworthiness
Here’s a presentation by Lufthansa to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on their ab initio (from the beginning) pilot training syllabus. Some thoughts on this: Slide 6 depicts the Lufthansa pilot selection process. What is striking about this graphic is the 95-98% success rate in step 3, “pilot school,” (aka flight school.) This is … Continue Reading
The Germanwings mishap/murder investigation has gone very quiet lately. Major media focused on aircraft design, interviews of past girlfriends, speculation into mental illness, pilot training, and self-disclosure protocols for pilot medical qualifications. Nobody addressed the real issue: pilot trustworthiness. In what we in the U.S. call “general aviation” (GA), pilot suicides are rare, but not … Continue Reading
Aviation, Germanwings, Pilot Trustworthiness
This is gross, but pilots have a saying: “sucking up a seat cushion.” It means that things have gotten tense in the cockpit because of some emergency, enemy action or the lack of some aviation essential (runway, altitude, airspeed or fuel). You can imagine a pilot tensing up – all over – under such circumstances, … Continue Reading
Judy Woodruff interviews two men for this spot: Warren Silberman, MD, a former Manager of Aerospace Medical Certification for the FAA now in private practice, and William Hurt Sledge, MD, professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, who has screened pilots for the US Air Force and airlines for years. It is worth … Continue Reading
CNN’s Brianna Keilar interviews CNN safety analyst David Soucie, CNN aviation analyst Miles O’Brien, former United Captain Kit Darby, and CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes. It’s a mixed bag if you’re a pilot:
When Andreas Lubitz left training in 2009 for treatment, he disclosed to Lufthansa that it was for “previous episode of severe depression.” Lufthansa probably had no right to discontinue his training at that point, according to their hiring process, because Lubitz had by then obtained medical clearance to fly.
In the wake of the mass murder/suicide Andreas Lubitz committed when he crashed Germanwings flight 9525 into the Alps last week, we’ve tried to find the reason. The airplane and his training as a pilot have been ruled out. Inquiries into Lubitz’ character and motivation are ongoing. We know he was not a Muslim terrorist, … Continue Reading
Andreas Lubitz’ ex-girlfriend provided some retrospective warnings about his mental state. She probably dismissed his statements that he would do things “that would change the system,” and that “everyone will then know my name and remember me,” as delusional. This isn’t hard to connect to his actions to crash the Airbus. Still, we should wait … Continue Reading