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Flight Crew Training Notice: Safety Regulation Group

The document discusses recommendations for avoiding hard landings during route training in response to an incident where a trainee pilot with a history of poor landings made a hard landing, damaging the aircraft. It recommends that trainers undergo additional simulator training to better recognize handling errors during landing and learn recovery techniques. Pilots should also be trained in recovery from hard and bounced landings, especially on aircraft with sidestick controls. The document aims to prevent future incidents through improved trainer and pilot training.

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24 views2 pages

Flight Crew Training Notice: Safety Regulation Group

The document discusses recommendations for avoiding hard landings during route training in response to an incident where a trainee pilot with a history of poor landings made a hard landing, damaging the aircraft. It recommends that trainers undergo additional simulator training to better recognize handling errors during landing and learn recovery techniques. Pilots should also be trained in recovery from hard and bounced landings, especially on aircraft with sidestick controls. The document aims to prevent future incidents through improved trainer and pilot training.

Uploaded by

pedati
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© © All Rights Reserved
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SAFETY REGULATION GROUP

FLIGHT CREW TRAINING NOTICE

04/2009
Applicability: RETRE, TRIE, TRE, SFE, TRI, TRAINING MANAGER

Effective: Immediate

AVOIDANCE OF HARD LANDINGS DURING ROUTE TRAINING

1 Introduction

1.1 In 2008, a UK operator was involved in a hard landing on a fly-by-wire (FBW) type of aircraft. The flight
was from London Gatwick to a popular Greek island, with an en-route technical stop in mainland
Greece. The captain was a qualified Line Training pilot. The first officer, a trainee with low hours,
mishandled the flare that led to a hard landing. The co-pilot had a history of poor landings on the type.
The landing was sufficiently hard to badly damage the undercarriage. Following extensive temporary
repairs, the aircraft was ferried gear down to Toulouse.

2 Background

2.1 The approach into the island airport was challenging, as the normal level of flight guidance taken for
granted in Western Europe was missing. A pilot flying an approach into such destinations has a much
higher workload since the ideal flight path is not always displayed on instruments. Near the ground, it is
often challenging to spot a deteriorating situation when a pilot mishandles the flare.

2.2 The difficulties for training captains to swiftly identify inappropriate side-stick control inputs from
inexperienced pilots and then to intervene in time, is not unknown to Airbus trainers. However, the
position of Line Training captain is often the entry level for a pilot eventually becoming a TRI and TRE
with an operator. Pilots initially undertaking this role are relatively inexperienced in recognising and
coping with pilot mishandling near the ground.

3 Recommendations

3.1 The following points, arising from the incident, should be considered by instructors and those involved
in instructor training:

Awareness - Trainers operating FBW types with sidestick controls (i.e. no traditional control
yoke) should understand that flight deck cues of a trainee pilots handling/mishandling are less
than in conventional types. The absence of a traditional yoke makes assessment of the flare
manoeuvre particularly difficult. Trainers should develop a modified scan that should include
changes to attitude, idle power selection and, ideally, sidestick movement.

Formal training - Line trainers should undergo simulator training that covers recognising and
coping with handling errors during the landing phase. Training managers are encouraged to
plan additional trainer training time as a learning, and hopefully preventative, measure. This
should include rehearsals of baulked landing recovery manoeuvres and the taking over of
control.

Pilot training - All pilots should be made aware of recovery techniques from hard and bounced
landings, especially on aircraft with sidestick controls. Subsequent cockpit alerts, such as the
Take-off Configuration warning that may occur, must be discussed. (The A320 gives a CONFIG
warning that is a similar sound to the Fire Warning.)
FLIGHT CREW TRAINING NOTICE - 04/2009

4 Queries

4.1 Any queries as a result of this Flight Crew Training Notice should be addressed to Manager Flight Crew
Standards at the following e-mail address: [email protected].

Captain David McCorquodale


Manager Flight Crew Standards

26 October 2009

Source Reference: Air Accidents Investigation Branch Safety Recommendation 2008-024.

Publications affected: Operator part D manuals.

Review: March 2010

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