Airline Pilot Central Forums - View Single Post - What Training/Checking Standard Should Exist

02-09-2012, 05:07 AM

#25

BTDTB4

On Reserve

Joined APC: Nov 2011

Posts: 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeineLodge

I think it boils down to spending our training capital (time) in the most effective way, which it seems is the target of your inquiry on here. Neither way is wrong, I just think AQP provides the airline the ability to go above and beyond the standard to address their unique operational threats. Your concern seems to be the airline using AQP to avoid doing certain required maneuvers, and I have found, at least at Northwest and Delta, that it was the exact opposite.

In response to your comment, above, I made a phone call to an acquaintance of mine ... a former Delta instructor. I just got off the phone with him this morning and in his view, the thought that the Delta AQP was “the exact opposite of avoiding doing certain required maneuvers” is most assuredly NOT true. His specific example was that Delta was one of the airlines that was conducting recoveries from windshear INSTEAD of conducting recoveries from stall or approaches to stall during recurrent training – as allowed under AQP. That particular circumstance is apparently no longer the practice at Delta, but it apparently played a significant part in this acquaintance’s leaving their employment. Please understand, my intent is NOT to impugn the integrity or the reputation of any US airline – particularly one that has the public reputation that Delta has ... but the facts are hard to deny. Regardless of the airline, when given the opportunity to do something that will save money and is judged to be legal by the Feds – in fact, may be encouraged by the Feds – it would hard for any airline to “stay the course.” According to this friend of mine, the relationship that the Delta instructors had (and I guess still have) with the local FAA office was/is pretty good. That FAA office had apparently worked diligently with the appropriate personnel at the airline – but, in addition, some of the individual inspectors worked even harder with individual instructors at the airline to bring certain issues to light. No, my friend would not get specific, but Delta apparently no longer substitutes windshear training for recoveries from approach to stall training (and, it looks like that will be replaced in the rule by recoveries from stall...). He didn’t say, but reading between the lines, I would suspect that there may still be persons involved who might get caught in any reaction that might still be possible if some things were made public – and it’s not worth that kind of concern.

I had often mused that it would be nice to be able to have an open “round-table” discussion (a la Charlie Rose) where everyone would be honest in voicing their opinions and offering their suggestions ... but ... it seems that on-line forums, such as this one, are going to be the closest thing we get to having such a capability. I really hope it continues.

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