Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Coke
Wow, got some armchair questioning of the pilots going on now in a big way.
"Those types of things are relayed to a pilot by the ops at the airline or the preflight breifing at least in NA. Example the Comair crash in Lexington KY.
Also, I would highly doubt that this is the pilots first time flying into the airport since it had been paved."
The best info available is passed along, but the cold hard facts are that sometimes the info either isn't available or it is incorrect. A common situation for us in Canada is runway friction due to ice/snow in winter. We have a system entirely devoted to it (CRFI). But it is only as good as the A)accuracy of the system--it still has inherent limitations B)recency of the last runway test C)the most recent and applicable data being passed on, instead of one from 12 hours earlier.
I don't know the details of this situation, but if the runway hadn't been grooved that would dramatically affect braking ability in wet conditions. If that info hadn't been passed along, then data the crew would be dealing with would be inaccurate.
As for the pilot not having flown in there since it was paved, my understanding is it was paved within the last week. So it is actually extremely likely that they hadn't flown in since the paving.
As for the comments on cost of diverting/going around, while true from a macro standpoint, the entire purpose of a pilots job is to deal with risk and safety, and make tough decisions regardless of financial issues. We have to divert/go around as a course of our jobs, and it happens--not all the time, but it is not uncommon either.
In fairness, although it is possible those can be issues, or even 'pilot ego', I just feel it is unfair to make those types of accusations with no evidence pointing to that, and certainly not to make the assessment that it is the only plausible cause.
It might be the pilots, we all make mistakes, but as Ken said, it is almost always a multitude of issues that contribute to it, not just pilot error.
|
Hey bro we are just speculating here.
Let's not forget that pilot error is responsible for 76% of all aviation accidents.
As far as your bolded part goes. Certainly that statement is the mantra of all airlines, but accident history proves that airlines will risk public and client safety to save a few bucks.
Finally I think its no secret that the airline industry works on a "do nothing until lives are lost" principle. They are two many examples in history of preventable accidents to suggest otherwise.
Examples include in the late 90's the word was out that flight decks should be locked and secured (because of reports of terrorist gaining control) - nothing was done because of the cost - 9/11 happens and flight decks are locked up.
________
TOYOTA CRESSIDA SPECIFICATIONS