Training is a topic for endless discussion in the aviation community, and for good reason. Accidents often point out gaps in training curriculums that allow hazards to grow with fatal consequences. Then, in a seemingly endless cycle of repetition, the act of closing those gaps develops new inadequacies as priorities are shifted to accommodate the existing training footprint.
Some aviation dangers, however, can never be directly addressed by training. These can only be overcome by the application of a vague set of skills commonly referred to as experience and “airmanship.”
So it was for the enhanced crew of Qantas 32, the Airbus A380 flight out of Singapore on Nov. 4, 2010 (See, “A Black Swan Event”). Their trial, triggered by the uncontained failure of the no. 2 turbofan’s intermediate pressure compressor disk, presented them with an avalanche of failures never envisioned by certification…
