There be some good that comes out of the tragic plane crash last month in India that killed more than 150 people: India may finally set stricter rules for the training of its pilots.
That’s because pilot error, and the poor training of pilots that’s draw international criticism previously, are being blamed now for the crash at a hilltop runway in the southern city of Mangalore, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The preliminary finding of the investigation of the May 22 crash is that the pilot didn’t follow basic safety rules during his approach to the landing strip, touching down too far along a hilltop runway and then trying to get the Boeing 737 back in the air again.
The plane dropped off a cliff, came apart and caught on fire. It was the worse plane crash in more than 10 years in India, and brought to the forefront again criticism of that nation’s training of its pilots.
For example, in India pilots can fly different plane models during a duty period. That presents some safey challenges, as the pilot has to vary his or her routine for the different kinds of plane types rather than just sticking with the one.
U.S. airlines don’t allow their pilots to vary the types of planes they are flying during a period.
The crash has raised another issue: That flight crews have members that speak diferent languages and have different cultural traits, which can gum up communications on the plane and ad to the confusion if there is a crash. According to The Journal, the captain of the plane that crashed was British and of Serbian descent, while the co-pilot was an Indian national.
International air-safety experts have been vocal critics of India’s shortcomings in terms of training pilots. In the aftemath of the May crash, Indian officials said they are making their rules for pilots stricter. For example, one of the proposed changes is that the sole pilot in a cockpit has to stay with his seat belt in his chair, ready to deal with any problems that arise.
That potential directive, according to The Journal, was prompted by a recent incident where a pilot left the cockpit to use the bathroom. The plane hit turbulance when he was gone, and the co-pilot didn’t respond quickly. As a result, the plane plummeted thousands of feet before the pilot got control again.
The point is, there were close calls in India before the May 22 crash. Now is the time for India to make the necessary changes so that last month’s disaster isn’t repeated.