Photo: 123RF
An AirAsia Airbus A320
What are the consequences of a pilot making a mistake?
After having retired from flying, I was involved in safety audits, observing how airline pilots operate their flights. Our team identified threats and errors to aviation safety and highlighted them so that all airline pilots in the company could learn from the mistakes of others.
We recognize that we are all humans and do make mistakes sometimes. As such, the conventional wisdom tells us that a pilot should not be punished for minor mistakes as long as he has not violated any regulations. Instead, he be given a retraining prior to flying again.
On 26 June 1988, an Air France Airbus A320 crashed while making a low fly past as part of the Habsheim Air Show in France. Investigations concluded that the pilot flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally crashed into it.
The captain was charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to ten months in prison.
Well not all mistakes ended up with jail sentences. Pilots do make minor mistake but if the slip ups lead to accidents, then there will be an investigation. If it was an honest mistake the pilot will normally be retrained.
If the accident was caused by willful violation, then he would probably be fired. Willful violation of regulations is ground for dismissal.
On July 23, 1983, an Air Canada Boeing 767 flying between Montreal and Edmonton ran out of fuel. The crew successfully landed the plane at an air force base at Gimli, Manitoba. This accident is commonly blamed on mistaking pounds for kilograms which resulted in the aircraft carrying only about half of its required fuel.
In this case, after an internal investigation, the captain was demoted for six months and first officer was suspended for two weeks for allowing the incident to happen. It was an incredibly expensive error but they flew until retirement.
On 24 August 2001, an Air Transact Airbus A330 flight from Toronto, Canada to Lisbon in Portugal lost all engines while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The plane ran out of fuel due to a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. The captain glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores.
Even though it was partly due to the pilot error for not correctly identifying the fuel leak and following standard operating procedures, the pilots returned to a heroes’ welcome as a result of their successful landing and saving 306 lives.
On 18 Aug 2015, the captain of a Jet Airways Boeing 737 had a close shave after the pilot tried to unsuccessfully land the aircraft six times in two different cities. They finally landed at Trivandrum in India on the seventh attempt with only 349 kg of fuel left.
For his reckless act, the captain was demoted to the rank of a co-pilot.
Well, the consequences of a pilot’s mistakes may sometimes vary with the airlines. They range from being fired, demoted, suspended, retrained or being jailed.
See YouTube video on How the Very First Airbus A320 Crashed at an Air show
– Pilots to Blame? –