[News] The pilots say they are making mistakes because of the pandemic that kept them on the ground. One of them forgot to ask permission to land

[rlex]

 

 

The pandemic has drastically reduced the number of flights, and this has a direct effect on pilots. Many of them complain that they have lost their skills and ended up making childish mistakes.

The data appear in a report by the Aviation Safety Agency from NASA, based on information given by pilots under the protection of anonymity.

According to these reports, some did not know how to program the on-board computer, and others were overwhelmed during the turmoil. A pilot even confessed that he forgot to ask permission from the control tower for landing.

The specialists explained that the pilots need a number of flight hours to keep their skills and focus on the flight of the plane.

"It was my first flight in almost 3 months," one pilot wrote in June, explaining why he forgot to activate the critical anti-freeze system.

"I was too confident that I would remember everything, that it was like a second nature," the pilot wrote, according to CNN .

Fortunately, the flight went smoothly.

The idea behind NASA's reporting system is that error recognition allows for analysis and improvements that increase aviation safety. From the report are removed from the information that could allow the identification of pilots.

"In order to prepare for a flight after a period of inactivity, I should have spent more time reviewing my ability," admits a pilot.

Airlines and the US Federal Aviation Administration have systems in place that can require pilots to retain their skills. The pilot had not flown for more than 3 months, approaching the time when federal regulations would have required him to do additional training, in force for pilots who are not active enough for a period of 90 days.

The problem, says aviation safety expert Peter Goelz, is that air tragedies often occur because of a series of events that begin with a simple mistake.

"These seemingly trivial types of errors can lead to horrific events," said Goelz, CNN's aviation analyst and former director of the National Transportation Safety Committee, which investigates plane crashes.