Download Tired pilot took jet into danger

Tired pilot took jet into danger
GEOFFREY THOMAS AVIATION EDITOR, The West Australian March 11, 2011
Crash investigators have found that a QantasLink 717 pilot was stressed, fatigued and under
operational pressure when the jet almost stalled as he prepared to land in Alice Springs en route to WA
in 2008.
The Australian Transport Safety Board found the Boeing 717 with 70 passengers approached Alice
Springs with "high nose-up pitch and airspeed slightly below the approach speed" exacerbated by the
bank angle as it turned on to the final approach.
A "stick-shaker" warning alerted the flight crew that the plane, which was just 300m above the ground,
was close to an aerodynamic stall, which could cause serious control problems.
Aerodynamic stalls are when the wing no longer has sufficient lift and are caused by either a pitch up
angle that is too steep, insufficient speed or a combination of both. If close to the ground, a stalled
plane will almost always crash.
The ATSB found the captain's judgment and monitoring "were probably adversely affected by personal
and work stress and associated fatigue, although the duty roster met the necessary standards".
The agency warned that pilots operating within flight and duty time limitations could still have fatigue.
The captain reported sleeping on average for only four hours a night.
The report says the captain "reported feeling drowsy during the day on a regular basis, especially
between 1pm and 3pm".
Another factor, the ATSB said, was operational pressure from a company memo that fuel was
"expensive and becoming more expensive".
"If the same task can be achieved for a reduced fuel burn, then it behoves each and every crew member
to strive to achieve this outcome," the memo said. The pilot told the ATSB there was a "push" by the
operator to delay configuring the plane for landing, thereby saving fuel, a claim QantasLink denied.
This delay for the landing configuration would add pressure and workload to the pilots and result in an
initial higher, steeper, faster and less stable approach to the landing.
The ATSB noted that QantasLink issued several notices to pilots on the incident and the plane's
comprehensive protection systems.
QantasLink also amended some of its simulator training requirements and worked with Boeing to
reduce the likelihood of similar incidents.