Dozens of US pilots have reported making “mistakes” because they are “rusty” after returning to the skies after months of lockdown due to the pandemic, a NASA watchdog reports.
Air travel demand is lowest in decades due to COVID-19, which shut down many international flights as countries tried to contain the virus.
Pilots returning to the captain’s seat have told NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System that they have made dozens of “mistakes” since May because they are out of practice.
Errors include: forgetting to turn off the parking pause on takeoff, making three attempts to land the plane on a windy day, choosing the wrong runway, and forgetting to turn on the anti-freeze mechanism that prevents the altitude and airspeed sensors to freeze.
So far, no incidents have been reported where pilots that were not in practice caused accidents in which passengers were injured.
While aviation experts say they have confidence in the safety of flights, they warn of the need for pilots to return to work after months of absence to receive additional training sessions, and some US airlines are starting to provide this.
Dozens of pilots have told NASA’s anonymous Aviation Safety Reporting System that they made “mistakes” because they were “rusty” as a result of fewer flights during the pandemic. Pictured is a Boeing 767-323 cargo plane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on January 13, 2021. It is not clear for which airlines the pilots flew.
Aviation experts say they are confident in the skills of pilots and the airlines who give them extra training after months in lockdown
An officer, who did not turn on his defrost system, told the NASA watchdog, “Since I hadn’t flown in a few months, I was rusty. I felt my memory was strong enough, but in reality I should have taken some time to review “standard operating procedures,” as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Another pilot accidentally lined up to land on the wrong runway, while another pilot accidentally disabled the autopilot and a first officer made an unusually steep turn after misreading instruments in the cockpit.
In both cases, the pilots and first officers blamed the mistakes in practice.
In September, a first officer of a commercial jet fighter reported that he had misjudged the distance to the runway during a landing and had lowered the aircraft too low. Rather than abort the landing and circle the airport for another attempt – the safest option – the first officer made last-minute adjustments to the land.
Contributing factors included mild turbulence requiring constant power adjustments, said the first officer.
They added, “Also the lack of recent flight time due to taking leave – this was my first approach / landing in several weeks on top of the very limited flight time of the last six months.”
During an incident in October, when a pilot forgot to take the parking break, they said it had been “40 days since my last flight.”
They added: ‘We fly less so we need to be even more careful. Better attention to detail. ‘
NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System is designed to allow pilots and other airline crew members to anonymously report mechanical failures and human error without fear of retaliation from aircraft manufacturers or airline management.
International and domestic flights plummeted, and in the case of some destinations they stopped completely last year. Many pilots feel that they are out of action when they are back in the air. Pictured is a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 13, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits pilots from flying commercial aircraft unless they take off and land three times in the last 90 days – on an airplane or in a simulator
Aviation experts have long recognized that when pilots are inactive for long periods of time their skills deteriorate rapidly and they tend to make mistakes, such as flying too fast or too high during a landing or forgetting to get clearance from the control tower before descending into a lower height.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits pilots from flying a commercial jet unless they take off and land three times in the past 90 days – either on an airplane or on a simulator.
But the FAA changed that requirement twice last year, giving pilots more leeway, though so far no U.S. airline has reported a pilot needing it.
In April and May, the number of daily starts in the US fell to about 75% below the pre-pandemic level.
According to industry data, the number of starts in recent months has risen to 43% under pre-pandemic times.
As a result, some pilots have been returned to work after an absence of up to four months.
Last week, Delta Air Lines announced that it planned to recall about 400 pilots by the summer, hoping that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will boost travel demand.
Aviation experts say there are plenty of back-up systems in modern passenger aircraft to keep minor mistakes from turning into serious accidents.
Richard G. McSpadden Jr, senior vice president at the Air Safety Institute of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, said, “The key to safe flying is frequency. You’re not as sharp if you haven’t flown in a while. ‘
However, the International Air Transport Association, a trade group for airlines around the world, reported a significant increase in the number of aircraft making ‘unstable approaches’ last spring, which usually occurs when pilots attempt to land at too high a speed or without sufficient thrust. . and make last minute adjustments.
The airline group reported that the number of “ unstable approaches ” has risen from about 13 or 14 for every 1,000 flights before the pandemic to more than 35 per 1,000 in May.
The problem of unstable approaches increased at airports around the world in the spring and summer of 2020, the group said, but the rate returned to pre-pandemic levels in recent months.
But many experts say they are not concerned. Kenneth P. Byrnes, chair of the Flight Training Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said commercial passenger jets always fly with a pilot and a co-pilot to reduce the risk of pilot error.
He said, “I’m comfortable with the security requirements. I don’t think there is any immediate danger. ‘
Mark Searle, global director for safety at the International Air Transport Association, said he is confident that pilots will be on top of their need to get more training.
“If they stick to the standard procedures we apply, I don’t think there’s a big problem,” he said.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association recently offered a video series on its website to help untrained pilots hone their flying skills.
The series includes tutorials on how to use the radio to communicate with a control tower and tips for a smoother landing.
American Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines, was also concerned that pilots would no longer be in the field, so it began to evaluate its data on pilot performance more often.
The pilot’s 2020 data showed no loss of proficiency, said Kimball Stone, American Airlines senior vice president of flight operations.
“There is no decline in skills,” he said.