{"id":148956,"date":"2022-01-05T19:22:18","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T19:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=148956"},"modified":"2022-01-05T19:22:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T19:22:18","slug":"rusty-airline-pilots-forget-how-to-take-off-after-being-grounded-by-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/rusty-airline-pilots-forget-how-to-take-off-after-being-grounded-by-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Rusty airline pilots ‘forget how to take-off’ after being grounded by pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of us are having trouble remembering how to do our jobs after the Christmas break, but if airline pilots have forgotten the basics it\u2019s a bit more worrying.<\/p>\n

An internal memo from Australian airline Qantas reveals that some of its pilots and ground crew are making some dangerous errors as they come back from the long lockdown layoff.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus pandemic led to many airlines cancelling flights, and now that aircrews are returning to work many expert pilots are having to re-learn their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoutine items that used to be completed with a minimum of effort now occupy more time and divert attention away from flying the aircraft,\u201d says the memo.<\/p>\n

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The document, obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, reveals that the two-year disruption from the pandemic has \u201ccreated a situation where expert pilots have lost recency and experienced a subsequent reduction in cognitive capacity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombined with reduced flying across the network, we recognise a flow on effect for flight crew\u2019s focus and familiarity with the operation,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Quantas\u2019s flight operations team keeps an eye on how the airline is running day-to-day, and their work is \u201cespecially important during the disrupted period of operations we have experienced over the last 19 months\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some of the \u201cerrors\u201d logged by Quantas pilots over recent weeks include: \u201ccommencing take-off with park brake set\u201d and \u201cmisidentification of altitude as airspeed\u201d.<\/p>\n

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There are numerous other disturbing \u201cthreats\u201d listed in the memo. In one case switches on the cockpit panels were left in the wrong position prior to take-off and there was also a number of was was described as \u201cexterior inspection events\u201d.<\/p>\n

On June 21 last year, the crew of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking off from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport with 106 passengers and 13 crew onboard found that they were unable to operate the plane\u2019s landing gear correctly because it had been left locked into place by ground crews.<\/p>\n

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