Aircraft accidents and incidents today are normally attributed to multiple causes. Indeed, there is rarely one single cause of an accident. Where does the system fail? High workload, crew fatigue, mismanagement of automation and other factors all play a role. Ultimately, however, handling the airplane manually often comes into the picture. Even though pilot handling skills are rarely a stand-alone factor, there is industry concern about the possible degradation of those skills.
According to Yann Renier, head of training and licensing at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), “In the wake of some high-profile accidents around the turn of the last decade, the industry has mandated extra training for upset prevention and recovery (knowledge and simulator) and we do think this training, combined with the strong awareness efforts, has contributed to improvements in safety. … Additionally, IATA supports global promotion and implementation of competency-based training and …
