Aerodynamic stalls lately have had roles in an unusually large number of accidents, helping to boost the “loss of control” accident category to the top of the rankings of killer events in aviation. So it was not surprising that one of the most compelling segments of Flight Safety Foundation’s 23rd annual European Aviation Safety Seminar, in Istanbul, Turkey, concerned how to deal with the onset of stalls and how to train for stall recovery.
After a lot of discussion, Claude Lelaie, special adviser to the Airbus president and chief operating officer, cut to the heart of the remedy for pilots finding themselves in a stall or near-stall condition: “If you push on the stick, you will fly!”
This seemingly obvious bit of wisdom needed to be said in light of the number of fatal accidents and near-accidents in the past decade that wouldn’t have happened if the flying pilots had just followed Lelaie’s sage but simple advice.
Michael Coker, Boeing’s senior safety pilot, flight…
