I spent a couple days in a seminar in Dubai discussing the future of training in our industry — a session dominated, like most recent meetings, by discussions of “the Air France 447 problem.” Of course, people have been talking about the challenge of automation dependency and its impact on training for years, but that crash of an Airbus A330 over the South Atlantic two years ago has moved people to act.
I was amazed to hear the response already in place at some Middle East airlines. Emirates, for example, has added a two-day manual flying session to its training syllabus, and substantially revised its policies on the use of automation. Those changes represent a big shift in training philosophy and a big commitment of cash. Other airlines in the region are going down the same path.
I applaud the renewed emphasis on manual flying skills. Studies show that some crews lack confidence in their ability to fly the aircraft. When the airplane starts to head the wrong way, crews often g…
