Tag: aircrew

Who failed in Crash of Flight IX-812?

The report on accident of Air India Express Flight IX-812 highlighted several factors which resulted in the tragic loss of 158 lives [1]. Limiting to the human factors alone, there were both physiological limitations of the crew and failure of crew resource management (CRM), besides organisational shortcomings.

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G Force – What is?

‘G’ is the ratio between a given acceleration and the acceleration due to gravity. The term ‘G force’ is used sometimes to describe a force, which produced acceleration, which is a multiple of the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/sq sec). Thus, an acceleration of 98.1 m/sq sec would be 10 G. High sustained G, …

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Exhilarating when Accelerating in Air!

A fast jet can move rapidly on ground, taking off into the medium of air where it can be manoeuvered in flight by the aerodynamic forces generated by the thrust of its engine and manoeuvrability by swift-responding control surfaces. Such movements of the aircraft affect its occupants, the aircrew (pilots and weapons system operators) due …

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G-LOC – Then and Now…

16 September 2011. Reno, Nevada saw the tragic crash of a P-51Mustang [1] during the Reno Air Races. The findings of the National Transportation Safety Board suggests that the pilot had lost consciousness due to ‘overwhelming’ G forces [2]. This occurrence in a modified 1940’s vintage aircraft is no surprise, considering its high thrust to …

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There is LASER in my eye!

There is a spurt in the incidence of Laser devices aimed at aircraft during low level flying or while making an approach to land [1, 2]. Despite punitive actions against culprits, including sentence up to 10 years in Germany or 20 years in US, it shows no signs of abating [2, 3, 4]. Those shining …

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