Interesting story in today’s British Daily Telegraph. I’ve posted part of the report below. You’ll need a subscription to read it in full.

Airline pilots are making mistakes because they have become rusty because of the lack of flying time during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dozens of pilots have told NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System that they have made errors since getting back into the cockpit.

On one occasion a pilot forgot to disengage the parking brake when pulling away from the gate.

Another pilot struggled to land a plane in heavy wind, only succeeding in doing so at the third attempt.

Other incidents included a first officer forgetting to turn on the de-icing system, which ensures that the altitude and speed sensors operate properly.

The coronavirus pandemic has wrought havoc on the aviation industry with thousands of flights being grounded as demand for air travel slumped.

“It’s a real issue, there simply is not enough flying time for the number of pilots rostered,” aviation consultant, Bob Mann, told The Telegraph.

“That is particularly true of certain kinds of plane, like wide-bodied aircraft used for long-haul international flights.

“I think there is some complicity on the part of regulators. 

“For example, pilots are expected to have conducted three take-offs and landings within 90 days.

“That is considered a minimum, but this has been waived during the pandemic.

“Regulators have also waived the period in which refresher training should be done because there is so little flying time and not enough pilots to conduct simulator training sessions.

“Normally you will want to avoid having an inexperienced pilot paired with an inexperienced first officer.”

That has proved difficult during the pandemic, Mr Mann added.

It’s like any skill, if you don’t practice regularly you are not likely to be as adept at it,” a pilot told the Telegraph.

“There is no question that people are worried what their performance is going to be like.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/31/rusty-pilots-admit-making-mistakes-lack-flying-time/

Not at all surprised.  Even as just a flight simmer, I find that my sim skills decline after not using a flight sim for a while.  Flying is a learned skill, skills are perishable and the only way to keep them fresh is by frequent use.

Would  the same concerns occur with the mechanics and/or the ATCs? 

5 minutes ago, stans said:

Not at all surprised.  Even as just a flight simmer, I find that my sim skills decline after not using a flight sim for a while.  Flying is a learned skill, skills are perishable and the only way to keep them fresh is by frequent use.

Agreed. For the last two months I’ve been flying the Xtreme Prototypes Lear 25 and Vertx DA-62. Went back to the PMDG737 yesterday and although the flight went okay I had to think a bit harder about the sequence of actions.

At least real-world pilots generally only have one aircraft type to work with.

20 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

not enough pilots to conduct simulator training sessions.

This makes no sense to me. If a type-rated pilot hops into a Level-D for a cold-start and a couple of quick flights why does it have to be "a training session"? Granted, that's not going to simulate everything but it sure sounds better than just sitting around. At least you'd be reminded to release the parking brake and turn on the de-icer 🙂 .

52 minutes ago, W2DR said:

At least you'd be reminded to release the parking brake and turn on the de-icer 🙂 .

Well, in the example of a pilot forgetting to release the parking brake, I sincerely doubt the veracity of that tale. Either that or it has been reported incorrectly - a more likely explanation given how most journos report aviation stuff - you know all those lazy journo tropes: 'planes stuck on the runway for hours', taking off 'from tarmac', having 'wing flaps' -  like they'd be anywhere else - and so on.

The other possibility - also fairly likely as an explanation - is that some crew is covering up not using checklists because they are rushing, when they should have been doing things properly. I bet if you pulled the CVR you'd be able to confirm it wasn't a case of 'forgetting because we were a bit rusty'.

Here's why I have my doubts: The ground crew ask the flight deck crew to release the parking brake when the push is ready to commence, the flight deck crew then have to verbally confirm this has been done at the time, and on many airliners there is also a light on the nose gear which indicates this as well, you can also often feel the weight go onto the tug and sometimes you see it roll a tiny bit as well if you are in the tug or headsetting. The ground crew have to then acknowledge the flight deck crew's confirmation verbally. So, releasing the parking brake is mentioned literally three times at the point when it is supposed to be done prior to a push.

Nobody is going to forget that if it is being done even remotely closely to the proper procedure. If you forget something which is the topic of your conversation at the time which gets mentioned repeatedly, that's not 'being rusty', that's Alzheimer's. 🤣

Now of course you can get rusty with any skill, and it only takes a few weeks for that to start kicking in, but by the same token, it only takes a few minutes for it to start coming back when you get back in the 'driving seat', providing you had it down fairly well in the first place. So I'd be inclined to think that if a crew really was forgetting simple stuff, then they're either not briefing properly, or not using checklists properly, or not following the sterile cockpit rules properly, or possibly all three, and then using 'being rusty' as an excuse for being sloppy. Checklists are designed specifically to ensure you that can't forget things if you use them as you should.

Edited February 1, 20215 yr by Chock

Hmmmm!  Must have thrown the checklists out the window! 🤔

During my enforced grounding I’ve had months of daily VR flight sim sessions, and my hand flying has actually improved on when I was working full time😄

The hardest thing about returning to work is the non technical stuff I’ve not done for almost a year, like delivering a coherent concise brief.

1 hour ago, CYXR said:

Would  the same concerns occur with the mechanics and/or the ATCs? 

Yes, all based on the details of the job. Lets look at the mechanic and do a comparison. Way back in the day I was a mechanic myself before I started flying. I would take 30 day vacations back then because I would be in use or lose leave situations. Returning after 30 days was not an issue at all for me. As long as you are following documented procedures, you are good for the most part. When it comes to standard inspections and removing/replacing parts, you might lose a little speed. If there is a unique way to accomplish a task or tips, you might forget those, which will slow you down. In regard to troubleshooting, it's a mindset and relies on knowledge level. You might not forget troubleshooting techniques, but, you may have to review system descriptions/ops if you haven't worked with them for a while.In my opinion, you are looking at potential speed loss. The bigger threat against mechanics is not following procedures or taking short cuts. Now, lets compare to a pilot.

From a pilot perspective, you are mainly engulfed in memory, knowledge level, multi tasking and repetition. Timing is a big part of those items too. On a good note, you have checklist to guide you from before flight through post flight. But, those checklist items are trigger items. If step 7 says "fuel panel test/set", you have to know the steps of the fuel test and the configuration the panel should be in when set. In the preflight alone, there is a lot to commit to memory. Outside of those checklists, there are other items that you are managing that all culminates into a flight. All of those things have to happen at the right time, within a set amount of time. With that in mind, you can see right away how being rusty can negatively impact your effectiveness. When you haven't flown in a long while, you may totally forget to do things in your mental checklist. You may have to refer to the AFM just to remember how to perform a checklist item. You will also be slower on your flows. All of these will cost you time that you don't have which leads to rushing. Being in a rush increases your risk of error greatly when you are rusty. Even if you get caught up, you will still have that sense of urgency which continues to put you at risk. Time management is the biggest challenge to stay on top of. At least as a mechanic, the majority of your work time is accounted for. Even when the plane breaks before departure, time is set aside for the repair/troubleshooting. I would assume ATC members might run into some of the same challenges when rusty and having to deal with a large volume of traffic.

Rick   

1 hour ago, jon b said:

my hand flying has actually improved on when I was working full time😄

That’ll be the Fulcrum One Yoke Jon. 😁 I’ll give them a shameless plug for a great yoke. https://fulcrumsim.com/product/fulcrum-one-yoke/

I’ve no doubt that really is the case Ray.

Also with the gauge of metal used and the  quality powder coating ,the fulcrum actually feels nicer in your hand and better built that the yoke on the 787 !

1 hour ago, G550flyer said:

Time management is the biggest challenge to stay on top of.

It`s what I was thinking about too. When all these aircraft are going to be allowed to reinter into service; more or less simultaneously; there will be considerable pressures on all involved in commercial aviation; especially those who make it happen. 

We should also spare a thought for the air traffic controllers , they’ve been left unchallenged for months with the current dip in traffic.Though I’m sure they’re probably getting regular sessions on the simulator to retain proficiency at managing more normal levels of traffic.

2 hours ago, jon b said:

the fulcrum actually feels nicer in your hand and better built that the yoke on the 787 !

Oh to be given the chance to compare Jon. 😁

2 hours ago, jon b said:

Though I’m sure they’re probably getting regular sessions on the simulator to retain proficiency at managing more normal levels of traffic.

I imagine the sessions can start easy enough but then progress to substantially more difficult ones with runway incursions necessitating go-arounds and maybe a few emergencies thrown in for good measure.

Sadistic trainers will be licking their lips. 😁