Stressed crew, pilots make a killer cocktail
Up to 78% of fatal air crashes are caused by human error, of which a majority are because of pilot fatigue, according to the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association. Could this also have caused the Mangalore crash?
By Saurabh Sinha & Arun Ram, TNN |
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Up to 78% of fatal air crashes are caused by human error, of which a majority are because of pilot fatigue, according to the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association. Could this also have caused the Mangalore crash?
The jury is still out, but internal communications of Air India Express accessed by TOI clearly show a shortage of staff was forcing cabin crew to exceed the limit on flying hours imposed by the directorate-general of civil aviation. Besides, most airlines are going in for quick turn-around flights at night, further raising pilots’ stress and fatigue levels.
Expat pilot loved India:
Capt Zlatko Glusica of Flight IX-812 was anything but inexperienced: he had 10,200 hours of flying experience, 7,500 of them as a commander and over 2,700 hours piloting Boeing 737s. Nor could there have been a problem with English, or lack of familiarity with Indian air traffic control or the runway: a British national of Serbian origin, Glusica had been with AI Express for over two years and had landed at Mangalore nearly 20 times, including five days ago.
Glusica, who celebrated his 53rd birthday on May 16, is said to have been a great fan of India and Nehru. A father of two, he was popular with co-pilots because he would give them a chance to land the aircraft.
No time to unwind for pilots, crew?
‘‘While such schedules may not be in contravention to any written rule, we find it extremely tiring. And this can have dangerous consequences,’’ says a pilot.
The DGCA has prescribed a limit of 1,000 flying hours annually so that the cabin crew is always fresh and alert for any emergency on a flight. Yet on January 15, 2010, AI Express chief of operations Captain Rajeev Bajpai wrote in a letter (accessed by TOI) to all cabin crew members: “Of late, incidents of crew exceeding the flying hour limitations have come to light.... While there has been shortage of crew, the responsibility still lies with individual crew to inform operations of any likely violation.’’
The jury is still out, but internal communications of Air India Express accessed by TOI clearly show a shortage of staff was forcing cabin crew to exceed the limit on flying hours imposed by the directorate-general of civil aviation. Besides, most airlines are going in for quick turn-around flights at night, further raising pilots’ stress and fatigue levels.
Expat pilot loved India:
Capt Zlatko Glusica of Flight IX-812 was anything but inexperienced: he had 10,200 hours of flying experience, 7,500 of them as a commander and over 2,700 hours piloting Boeing 737s. Nor could there have been a problem with English, or lack of familiarity with Indian air traffic control or the runway: a British national of Serbian origin, Glusica had been with AI Express for over two years and had landed at Mangalore nearly 20 times, including five days ago.
Glusica, who celebrated his 53rd birthday on May 16, is said to have been a great fan of India and Nehru. A father of two, he was popular with co-pilots because he would give them a chance to land the aircraft.
No time to unwind for pilots, crew?
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The crew of Flight IX 812 had left Mangalore at 8pm and flew more than four hours to reach Dubai. Soon, they were busy with walk-around inspections , fuel checks, and weather confirmation. By the time the routine checks were over, passengers were ready to board the flight for return. ‘‘While such schedules may not be in contravention to any written rule, we find it extremely tiring. And this can have dangerous consequences,’’ says a pilot.
The DGCA has prescribed a limit of 1,000 flying hours annually so that the cabin crew is always fresh and alert for any emergency on a flight. Yet on January 15, 2010, AI Express chief of operations Captain Rajeev Bajpai wrote in a letter (accessed by TOI) to all cabin crew members: “Of late, incidents of crew exceeding the flying hour limitations have come to light.... While there has been shortage of crew, the responsibility still lies with individual crew to inform operations of any likely violation.’’
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