Airnews, January 2011
CRM HAS TO GO!
MIKE FEENEY, who hails from Hamilton, in New Zealand, is an avid, tongue-in-cheek writer of matters aeronautical whose efforts on the computer keyboard are to be found “on the web” and in the “inboxes” of many people around the world.
One of his more recent offerings came into my inbox under the heading of “ICAO RULE THAT CRM HAS TO GO” with the by-line “Breaking news from your Aviation Safety reporter, Mike Feeney”. As this is vitally important to all aircraft equipped with a Captain and First Officer-cumco- pilot, I felt that it was important enough to warrant exposure in this edition. Here is Mike’s verbatim breaking news: “Since the misguided and, arguably, over-hasty introduction of Cockpit, Crew and Catering Resource Management (CRM) protocols, confusion has been occurring as to just who is the Boss of the Aeroplane (BoA). Some recalcitrant stroppy Co-Pilots have even gone so far as to point out to the Captains that they appear to be just a tad high and/or fast on short final approach or have descended below the Minimum Safe Altitude (MSA) while still in dense fog, as examples.
“Alarming reports have also been received from Captains that a latent/incipient tendency is emerging for some rebellious Co-Pilots to attempt to Fly-By-Brain (FBB) instead of Fly-By- Wire (FBW). An as yet unconfirmed report is even more alarming. It is alleged that a few Co- Pilots are even requesting that they be permitted to actually ‘man-handle’ the aircraft without the use of the Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS, aka Autopilot). One such misguided youth was heard muttering under his breath that: ‘“Well my Dad told me that he used to do it...and he should know!’ “Therefore, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has decided to strongly recommend that the placard (right) be fastened to the Co-Pilot’s Instrument Panel (CPIP).
“Furthermore, ICAO is also urging all air carriers to discontinue the use of the somewhat ‘classy’ rank of ‘First Officer’ (F/O) lest it imply that these flight crew have some form of responsibility for the safety and well-being of the passengers.
“It has been recognised that such a concept is patently absurd as only a Captain can possibly possess the wisdom, superior intelligence, judgement and, above all else, the degree of low cunning (DOLC) that is required to outwit the bizarre behaviour of certain aeroplane types that are equipped with giant super-computers that have been programmed by NERDs (No Experience Regarding Dynamics) who hold no piloting qualifications at all.
“All Co-Pilots are therefore required to learn the new checklist by heart as it has become evident that many of the younger ones have difficulty with reading, writing and the enunciation of simple sentence structures. In this event, Captains are directed to explain the meaning of the new instrument panel placard (IPP) and check that Co-Pilots are able to recite it without error.
“A failure by a Co-Pilot to execute this task in a satisfactory manner, prior to, or during all flight phases, should be reinforced with a biff across the scone (BAS) with a rolled-up newspaper (RUN) as worked so well in the good old times (GOT) when everybody on the flight-deck and in the cabin knew their proper place.”
THEY SERVED AFRICA WITH WINGS
Another email to reach my desk recently originated in Canada and was signed by one Mitch Stirling. He sent me the short article about Captain Jack Adams’ flying experiences which appears on Page 55 of this issue. In an exchange of emails with Mitch, it transpired that we could well have been flying in the same piece of airspace at the same time many moons ago.
As he explained: “We must have crossed paths at some stage. And we must have many mutual friends. I was with Tech Air, at Mount Hampden (now Charles Prince Airport, Harare) in the early ‘70s, then General Air Services, Swaziland, then Namaqualand Lugdiens, then RUAC (Rhodesian United Air Carriers) in Salisbury.
“I spent the last few years of my flying days on the Limbe Leaf Citation in Malawi. Great country. Great memories.” There must be many pilots out there, especially in Central Africa, who will remember Mitch Stirling. If you would like to contact him again, drop me an email and I’ll give you his address details.
In his preamble to the article “Find the Place”, Mitch Stirling wrote: “Jack McAdam (now deceased) was a pilot and founder member of Central African Airways (CAA) and before that Rhodesian and Nyasaland Airways, as well as Spencer’s Air Services at Victoria Falls.
“He received the King’s Commendation in 1944 for valuable services to aviation. “Serious readers of aviation in Central Africa know that there is one researcher who stands heads and shoulders above the rest – Jack McAdam – pilot, writer and historian. We are indebted to Jack for allowing us to use extracts from his scholarly articles, as well as numerous photographs that he lodged with the National Archives in Harare.”
Mitch added: “The above is from the Acknowledgements page in my book They Served Africa with Wings which is a play on the words “They Served Africa with Wings”, the motto of CAA. I spent years researching many of the ‘old boys’ and old ‘aeries’ when I was a pilot with Air Rhods/Zim in the 1980s. “Jack was a fantastic ‘old boy’ and we exchanged many letters before his death some years ago.
He was born in South Africa and attended St. Andrews, in Grahamstown.”
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