The Aspiring Pilot

A look into the ANA 737 roll event and possibly how it happened

As has been plastered all over the main stream media sights, an ANA Boeing 737-700 travelling from Okinawa to Tokyo had an inflight 'upset' that resulted in two flight attendants being injured and a few passengers complaints. The incident itself took place on September 6th but wasn't brought to the airlines attention until the next day and was just recently reported to the public this weekend. 

What happened was that the pilot of the airplane left the cockpit to utilize the lavatory. The co-pilot was in command and secured the door per safety requirements. When the captain tried to re-enter the flight deck and the first officer reached for the door lock controls, it appears that he accidentally turned the wrong knob. This caused the plane to eventually enter a descending roll. According to reports the plane descended 6,200 feet in less than 30 seconds and rolled 130 degrees, or 50 degrees short of being fully inverted.  The Japan Transport Safety Board released a computer animation of the event and can be watched (.wmv file) here. (http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/video/JA16AN-movie1.wmv)

The first officer and captain were able to regain control of the airplane and continue the rest of the flight uneventfully (though I'm sure there was some interesting conversation on the flight deck after that as well as in the cabin.) The pilot was reported to be near or at 60 years of age with over 16,000 hours of flight time and the first officer was 38 years old with 2,400 hours of flight time. 

Now, how could this happen? If you look at the cockpit layout of the 737-700, the Flight Deck Lock knob and the Rudder Trim knob are located in the same section, and one right above the other. They ARE different sizes; however, if not really paying attention and reaching over blindly, you can see how they MAY be mistaken. I have added the following picture of a KLM 737-700 cockpit for reference. The two knobs are located at the bottom of the center console, in the middle. You can see the words, 'Flt Dk Door' above the bottom one that controls the lock on the door.  I've included the link to the photo at Airliners.net so you can see the large version and the respective switches more easily. 

Click Here to view the photo (click on large for full detail) 

Another photo from a different airlines B737-700 shows the same knobs, but in a different location: 

Click Here to view the photo.  

Some closer pics of the same knobs, but on older models of the Boeing 737 when the knobs were actually a little farther apart. You can see they are still they same design in regards to shape and size.  

Now, watching the video animation of the actual movement of the airplane, I'm still having a bit a trouble visualizing this ONLY being a rudder trim issue, and I've spoken with two Boeing 737 pilots for other airlines and it seems there had to be more at play. Both knobs are twist and hold, with a spring-return mechanism. So once you release, the knob should return to the neutral position. If this is accurate, than the first officer had to twist and hold the rudder control knob long enough to cause a significant enough trim move that the autopilot disconnected. If you watch the animation video, it seems like the plane started some motion to the right, compensated back to straight and level, and then snapped into the left roll and dive. 

Now, this is ONLY my assumption and speculation, it would appear that the pilot probably reached over blindly to open the flight deck door. He accidentally twisted and held the rudder trim, and continued to hold it as the captain tried to open the door. The autopilot tried to compensate, resulting in the initial correction to back left as shown in the animation. Once the deflection in the trim caused enough motion, the autopilot disengaged, allowing the plane to snap into the roll/dive. It's amazing the pilot (not sure if the captain was back on the flight deck by that point) recovered in less than 30 seconds. Remember, this occurred at 1030 PM local time, and apparently over water, which could easily lead to further spatial disorientation. (The darkness and lack of ground reference could be why the initial yaw was not noted by visual cues outside the windows.)

The cause could be a combination of any factor, but fatigue (given the late hour of the flight) as well as even complacency that resulted in the pilot simply reaching over blindly to activate the door lock knob. 

As for what happened behind the flight deck, the articles in other media have quoted the safety board as saying that the forces resulting from the roll and concurrent dive would actually have resulted in the passengers not feeling the full effects of a 12,000 FPM drop or 130 degree inversion. At first I was a little hesitant to believe it, but this is actually plausible as only two flight attendants suffered minor injuries and a couple of passengers complained of 'feeling strange' (you think?!). 

I hope that the safety board releases a detailed report, with CVR and FDR transcripts to see exactly WHAT occurred aboard the flight that night. It's should be utilized as a great learning experience not only for the pilot's involved or ANA pilots, but all pilot's in any airplane. 

Remember, the Air France Flight 447 was allegedly a result of pilot error resulting from spatial disorientation after the autopilot shut off following erroneous instrument readings. (Not saying this is related at ALL, but shows the need for pilots to always be aware of all circumstances surrounding the flight at each moment.) 

If you are a B737, please provide your comments, opinions and thoughts below. I would love to have more first hand accounts on this issue. 

British Airways to hire 800 pilots over 4 years

In what BA is calling their largest pilot recruitment drive in over a decade, today they announced plans to hire 800 new pilots by 2016 due to the addition of a large quantity of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A380's to their fleet. The drive will be compromised of three seperate recruitment programs. 

The first is a path for military pilots. Military pilots can advance through their service with the end goal of working for the commercial aviation industry. Upon completion of their required service, they would then have the chance to work at British Airways. 

The second recruitment program is for current airline pilots to move from their current employement over to British Airways. 

Finally, the third, and probably most important to prospective pilots that are just looking to get into the aviation world is their training program. British Airways has stated that they know that one of the biggest detractors that is keeping people from pursuing a career as an airline pilot is the price tag that can be well in excess of $100,000.  As a result, British Airways will SEND aspiring pilots through training. 

British Airways 'Future Pilot Programme' will place 400 selectees at an approved flight training school and succesful candidates will have a job as a British Airways pilot.  The director of pilot recruitment at British Airways, Captain Robin Glover, stated that 'the Future Pilot Programme is a fantastic opportunity for anyone, from any background to realise their ambition of becoming a pilot and flying for British Airways. By removing the barrier of initial training costs and making it more accessible to a wider range of people, we hope to be able to attract the very best talent out there. It is a really exciting time to join British Airways as we are giving our customers even more choice by adding new destinations to our network and introducing new aircraft to our fleet. No other airline in the UK offers the opportunities that British Airways does for developing a career as a pilot.'

Successful trainees will attend one of three world-class flight training colleges in the UK and Spain, with the initial training fees covered by sponsor company, Airline Placement Limited (APL), with British Airways acting as guarantor.

 

United recalling about 10-15% of it's furloughed pilots.

United announced today that it will be recalling 100-200 of it's pilots that are on furlough over the next year. They currently have around 1,400 pilots on furlough and expect to make the recall offer shortly.  The recalled pilots will actually be flying for Continental as the two airlines continue to merge their operations. 

It's only a small percent of the 1,400 still sitting our at United, but it's finally a start in the right direction. Other airlines such as Delta and American had already been recalling their pilots and have many less left on furlougs.

Hopefully this is a trend that will continue and I'm sure this will be welcome news for the pilots of United that have been furloughed for such a long time already.  

Close call at O'Hare, media hops on fact it occurred shortly after Air Force Two arrival

Again, there was another ATC error on Monday (this time at KORD, O'Hare), and even though it DIDN'T involve Air Force Two, the mainstream media had to include it in the story. Air Force Two's mention seems almost to add sensationalism, as some news organizations then reference the close call with Michelle Obama's plane a few weeks back. 

In this instance, Air Force Two wasn't part of the reason for the close call; however, the increased traffic congestion as a result led to a much higher workload and may have led to the lapse.  Just prior to the incident, traffic began to back up as departures and arrivals were held during the landing of Air Force Two. Then, controllers had to deal with the helicopters hovering over, then escorting the vice-president's motorcade to downtown, off the departure paths for the East/West runways. 

The incident had an ExpressJet flight departing 32L with a Skywest flight cleared for landing on 9R. (View .pdf of the ORD Airport Diagram here.) You can see that the approach end 9R is just east of the midpoint of 32L.  So a regional jet departing on 32L will lift off across the path of any incoming aircraft into 9R, which is what happened in this instance.

The controller handling the arrival saw the conflict as an alert sounded notifying them of the loss of separation. That controller proceeded to immediately order the Skywest flight to go-around. Some news reports have stated the distance was less than 300' vertical and 200' horizontal between the two aircraft. 

You can't hear the go-around call, but you can hear one controller notify the secret service helicopter ('Hunstman 1') of the plane going on a missed approach and then clearing the departing Skywest jet to 4,000', (Skywest 6958). Audio courtest of LiveATC.net. 

KORD-Twr-May-16-2011-1430Z_edit

The departing ExpressJet flight is believed to have delayed it's rotation off the runway due to seeing the approaching aircraft about to cross the runway which possibly helped to avoid a collision as well.  

According to reports, a few choice words were issued by the departing pilot, and the controller apologized for the error.  The Skywest flight made a second approach without incident after being vectored back around for a landing. 

Also, reports are the the controller in error was also just recently certified, with some reports saying as recently as 2 weeks ago. There will obviously be discussions on if such a new controller should have been at the scope during such a hectic, busy, time as a VIP arrival at a peak traffic period for ORD. 

Finally, some people have called for the FAA to increase the required separation between landing aircraft on 9R, when 32L is in use for departures , to 10 miles, to allow ATC more time to get planes spaced for landings and takeoff and avoid close calls such as this. So far, nothing has come of this, but we'll have to wait and see how the new and additional runways play into the mix once the O'Hare modernization program is complete in a few years. 

Anyway, just another close call, another ATC PR issue in the public eye and another story sensationalized further by the media by bringing Air Force Two, a plane not involved in the incident, into the story.  Further proof as well of the need for the new runway's and configuration at O'Hare to limit the number of operations that cross as they do in these instances. 

Wanna get away?! Southwest Airlines opens First Officer Appplication

You can now apply for a F/O position with Southwest Airlines. See my prior post here about the rumor the pilot application site was about to be reopened.  The message is now down and the job is listed in the 'Job Listings' at SWA.  

If you qualify and plan to apply, good luck! Not sure on their hiring plans at the moment, but good to see the site back up and that they are at least accepting applications again! 

Hopefully this may translate into some movement within the airline industry as experienced pilots with other airlines and regionals move around and open positions there.  Is it a sign of a turnaround in the pilot career field? Time will tell.

If you have any more information on hiring plans, etc. please comment!  

Is Southwest Airlines about to re-open pilot application website?

Currently, if you navigate to the pilot employment information section of Southwest, you see the following note: 

Please Note:

Because we are not currently hiring pilots, we have taken down the pilot application site and you will no longer be required to update your information. Once we begin hiring again, we will put the application back up. At that time, you will be able to apply again and update your current information.

However, per a twitter post today, it looks like that may change soon for a two week period or so. According to @SWAPAExecs (the twitter account of 'The executive officers of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association') 'SWA online pilot application opening MAR 7th for a limited time only (2 weeks or less)! Pls pass along to fellow pilots who are interested.' 

So, keep an eye on SWA and they're twitter feeds. When they opened their flight attendant application, the site was so overwhelmed, it crashed under the load. I can't imagine the pilot application will be any less popular. 

For those that aren't aware, here's their requirements as listed on their site.  

Southwest Airlines Pilot Application Requirements:

• Certificates/Ratings: U.S. FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. Unrestricted¹ U.S. Type Rating on a B-737 not required for interview, but required for employment².
• Age: Must be at least 23 years of age.
• Flight Experience: 2,500 hours total or 1,500 hours TURBINE total. Additionally, a minimum of 1,000 hours in Turbine aircraft as the Pilot in command³ (as defined below) is required. Southwest considers only Pilot time in fixed-wing aircraft. This specifically excludes simulator, helicopter, WSO, RIO, FE, NAV, EWO, etc. NO other time is counted.³
• Currency: A minimum of 200 hours must be logged in the preceding 36 months.
• Medical: Must possess a current FAA Class 1 Medical Certificate. Must pass FAA mandated Drug Test.
• Authorization to work in the United States: Must have established authorization to work in the United States.
• Driver's License: Must possess a valid United States Driver's License.
• Education: graduation from accredited, four-year college preferred.
• Letters of Recommendation: At least three letters from any individuals who can attest to the pilot's flying skills, by having observed him/her over a sustained period of time.

Pilot base locations: Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Orlando, Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, and Las Vegas

 

So, if you're going to try your hand and apply and meet the requirements, good luck! 

Mesa Air Group emerges from bankruptcy

Just in time for what appears to be a run on the record level fuel prices again, Mesa Air Group has announced it is emerging from Chapter 11 bankrupcty protection. They entered chapter 11 proceedings approximately 14 months ago. 

The airline emerged slimmer and in hopefully better financial position to deal with the coming high fuel costs. Unfortunately, it's also emerging at a time when airlines are looking to trim their regional fleets and options as well. 

Mesa is down to about 75 airplanes in service, about 100 airplanes less then it had prior to its Chapter 11 filing. It is retaining its larger regional jets, with 70 and 86 seat configurations and plans to operate about 450  daily flights to 94 destinations under their contract with US Airways and United Airlines. 

The airline's elimination of nearly 100 excess aircraft and their associated leases removed about $700 million in capitalized leases and $50 million in debt from it's balance sheets per the press release. 

The company is emerging as a private company (not publicly traded on the stock markets as before.) 

In the press release, Mesa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ornstein stated that 'Today marks a new beginning for Mesa, one that allows the company to build on its almost 30 year history and reestablish ourselves as one of the world’s leading regional airlines. We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received during our reorganization from our creditors, airline partners and employees, and we will work hard to repay this trust by building a successful Mesa Air Group.'

He continued on, saying 'Upon our exit from bankruptcy, we will take the intensity and effort of the past 13 months and transfer it from the triage of the bankruptcy process to focus on opportunities that exist in our rapidly changing industry. Throughout our bankruptcy the Company’s operations remained at the highest level of reliability and safety. Our people did a fantastic job and nothing reflects their competitive spirit better than the fact that during our bankruptcy Mesa consistently delivered operational performance which continues to lead the regional airline industry in nearly every category monitored by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. 

This strong operational performance came during a time when many of our employees contributed to our financial savings by taking additional unpaid days off. This level of dedication and the resulting operational performance has provided a solid foundation upon which to return our airline to sustained profitability and future growth. In addition, through the restructuring process Mesa is among the first regional airlines to address the risks associated with fifty-seat regional jet aircraft which have increasingly fallen out of favor with mainline carriers. We believe the elimination of exposure related to this fleet provides Mesa with a significant competitive advantage.”

How succesful Mesa will be going forward in what appears to be a building challenging environment will take time to see.  

US Airways hiring back pilots and flight attendants

On Monday, US Airways stated it would hire 420 flight attendants and 80 pilots back off furlough.  This would exhaust the list of furloughed flight attendants and decrease the pilots left on furlough with US Airways from 180 to 100. 

The airline expects to have the FA's and pilots back in the air by June of 2011.  The recalls and new hires are being used to fill open positions from planned retirements and attrition.  

This comes a month after Delta announced the recall and hiring of 1,000 flight attendants, recalling all 425 of their FA's that were on furlough. 

US Airways 3Q results, announces hiring plans

By cliff1066™Cliff  via flickr.com

The light at the end of the tunnel for the aviation industry is slowly beginning to get brighter.  Each new report, each airline update, profits are returning, people are flying more, hiring is picking up.  We're still a ways away from a complete turnaround as there are still furlough lists to be exhausted.  With Delta hiring back all of it's furloughed flight attendants (or at least those accepting the recall) and American recalling all it's furloughed pilots over roughly the next 12 months, it was only a matter of time before other airlines made similar announcements. 

US Airways today announced earnings today, leading with a company record 3Q net profit of $240 million.  Wall street was expecting $1.17 per share in earnings (EPS) and US Airways came back with $1.22.  A $0.05 beat is pretty impressive.  

As a result, US Airways has announced it will recall ALL furlough FA's by years end and begin hiring new FA's in the beginning of 2011.  In addition, for the pilot's among us, they also announced plans to recall 300 furloughed pilots.  

Overall, this is a great turnaround from the loss of $80 million the company reports in the 3Q 2009.   

As these reports come in and I review other airlines earnings today, I'll post any additional impressive numbers or hiring increases that may be announced.  

American recalling pilots and FA's off furlough

According to a CNNMoney article, American Airlines is sending recall notices to 250 pilots and 545 flight attendants.    The recall for the pilots at least will be in stages, with 25 by mid-November and approximately 30 a month after that.  The first 225 flight attendants should be receiving a recall notice this month.  

According to the article,  'the recalls result from a recently-formed joint partnership with British Airways and the Spanish airline Iberia. Also, the airline said it has a pending deal with Japan Airlines. The airline said that several new routes are opening up in April, including a London to San Diego route operated with British Airways and a Madrid to Los Angeles route operated with Iberia.'

With this continuing increase in international traffic, and hopefully, more recalls as a result of any deals with Japan airlines, the pilot career path is becoming a little brighter.  There are still thousands of pilots on furlough across the entire industry, but the constant chipping away with recalls by airlines being announced every few weeks is helping to make the future look less bleak for current pilots as well as aspiring pilots.