Tag: human factors

The Birds come Flocking – Aero India 2011

The eighth edition of the biennial Bangalore air show, Aero India 2011, is upon us. This five day aerospace and aviation business show shall run from 09 to 13 Feb 11 in the aerospace capital of India. Close to 100 aircraft and related systems shall be on display, with 675 exhibitors participating from almost 45 …

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Lost Sleep – Compromised Safety

One of the often neglected but vital predisposing physiological factors in aviation is sleep, rather lack of sleep. The commercial pilots are governed by their duty schedule and the military aviators have the uncertainties of the operational deployment to blame for the loss of sleep. Although there may be regulations and guidelines, including FDTL to …

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Boeing and the Checklist

In 1930s, Boeing was successful in offering their Model 299 to the US Army Air Corps, winning against Martin’s Model 146 and Douglas’ DB-1 aircraft. On the fateful day of 30 October 1935, the aircraft stalled during climb after take off. The test flight crew consisted of Major Ployer Hill and Lieutenant Donald Putt, as pilot and …

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Blame it on the Pilot!

The CIS Interstate Aviation Committee has released the final report on the crash of the Polish TU-154. This Russian built aircraft, piloted by Polish Air Force pilots, crashed while attempting to land in poor visibility conditions at Smolensk North Airport in Russia  on 10 Apr 2010. The report found that ‘pilot error’ was the cause …

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The Naysayers and LCA

It is indeed a proud moment for the Indian aerospace community when the Light Combat Aircraft – Tejas (LCA) attained its Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) on 10 January 2011. The Indian Defence Minister formally handed over the ‘Certificate of Release to Service’ to the Indian Chief of Air Staff, thus setting the stage for the …

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