Federal Express, the renowned overnight package delivery service, highlighted in one of its memorable advertisements that waiting is not just frustrating but also demoralizing, agonizing, aggravating, annoying, time-consuming, and incredibly expensive. In waiting situations, serving personnel are frequently questioned, and the absence of an explanation adds to customers’ uncertainty about the wait duration. However, according […]
The doorway effect makes you forget as you pass through
A minimum equipment list (MEL) deferred action item must be performed before landing. Takeoff, climb & cruise are performed, but during descent, while preparing for the approach, the MEL action items are forgotten to be applied. Another action line for a Hydraulic Overheat is “When Overheat is Out…. Restore the Hydraulic system. During the approach, […]
Erroneous takeoff performance: El Al flight takes off with a 40Tonne error@mindFly
The El Al B-789 managed to get airborne safely despite the 40 Tonne error in weight while calculating the takeoff performance.
I have written a paper on how and why humans commit such grave errors and ways and means to prevent them.
Comair crashed while AirIndia timely rejected takeoff
The discoverers of ‘place cells’ in the brain won the Nobel prize in 2014. Who would have ever imagined that there was a GPS-like system in the brain? When the GPS fails safety is compromised & accidents happen. The Comair CRJ aircraft took off from the wrong runway & crashed. Air Arabia A320 turned towards […]
When the influential can’t defend themselves in aircraft accident investigations
Was weather the real culprit in this King Air C90 accident that occurred 20 years ago? Some intriguing but obvious facts and questions that would have changed the probable cause of the accident, not the flight crew.
Why did the accident investigators not answer the obvious question, poor braking?
Poor braking action by the aircraft during the 1st stage of deceleration proved very costly. Was it due to the runway surface which holds water and has a smooth finish? Matters which were not investigated.
Catastrophic, had an engine failed during takeoff at Trichy
Air India Express flight IX-611,a Boeing 737-800, VT-AYD 11th Oct 2018 suffered an accident soon after getting airborne. During takeoff roll, the Captain’s seat recline lock failed and the seat reclined. This resulted in an inadvertent action on the throttles pulling them back inadvertently. The thrust reduced from 98% N1 to 77% N1 and the […]
A350 goes astray as Pilot incapacitation occurs over Paris
An unexpected wind shear warning. The crew had disconnected the auto pilot on final approach at Orly. Thereafter no one flew the aircraft for a few tense moments.
Mindfulness, West adopting Eastern methods
Distraction, loss of concentration, carelessness and loss of attention are causal factors in a number of aviation occurrences. This is because the mind is either preoccupied with too many thoughts or inability to focus our attention at the right moment by decluttering our mind. Recent incidents of erroneous takeoff performance or approach on the wrong landing surface are a few examples. A 100tonne error in aircraft weight by the crew of AirFrance cargo in Paris or the crew of Air Canada who flew an approach on the taxiway with 4 aircrafts with almost a 1000 passengers lives at stake, being present in the situation is extremely important.
Safety must adopt High-Reliability concepts
A high-reliability organization is an organization that has succeeded in avoiding catastrophes despite a high level of risk and complexity.