Pilot’s hard landing not a one-off
The Australian says that the co-pilot of a QantasLink jet that landed so hard in Darwin it creased the aircraft’s skin had raised concerns about difficulties with landings before the accident.
An investigation by the operator of the Boeing 717, National Jet Systems, also found there had been an influx of less experienced pilots because of a skills shortage, and problems with training procedures.
The 717 landed heavily on the left main landing gear on February 8.
None of the six crew or 88 passengers was injured but damage to the aircraft included creases to the skin above and behind the wing and damage to the airframe.
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau interim report released yesterday said the co-pilot had been involved in at least two hard landings in the 15 days before the Darwin accident.
It said the pilot had raised concerns about difficulties with landings with a check captain during a previous flight and with another check captain after the Darwin accident.
But he did not report the landing difficulties directly to NJS’s training organisation because of worries about procedures and how it would be handled.
Investigators said NJS’s pilot training and checking manager had also been acting as head of pilot training for the 717.
They said NJS had found during its investigation that the lack of a separate head of 717 pilot training had been a factor in the flight crew’s lack of confidence in the training organisation’s ability to manage information.
“This situation has been aggravated by the irregularity of check and training meetings,” the NJS investigation found.
“Flight crew have reportedly been reluctant to identify training issues directly with management.”
NJS also admitted that a pilot shortage had forced it to employ less experienced pilots.
NJS has since hired a separate 717 training captain and developed new training procedures.
A Report by The Mole from The Australian
John Alwyn-Jones
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