Reports that the captain of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that crashed at San Francisco International Airport was stressed about landing at the airport without a glideslope left many of us shaking our heads. How could an airline pilot be worried about landing without a glideslope during the day in perfect weather conditions? Beginner GA pilots routinely land without glideslopes. But therein may lie the problem for this Asiana captain. It’s quite possible he had no GA experience. In fact, in many countries, commercial pilots do not come up through the GA system because there is limited, if any, general aviation flying there. These pilots have little (if any) experience flying without the sophisticated automation of today’s modern airliners. And while military pilots in these countries certainly get a wealth of experience training and flying in all manner of adverse conditions, with and without automation, many, if not most of them, tend to stay in the military. There does not seem to be the transition from the military to commercial flying that exists, or at least used to, in the U.S.
The Asiana crash and several other recent accidents have highlighted the problem of pilots–in the U.S. as well as abroad–depending too much on automation. I believe that the problem of depending too much on automation may really be an indication of how they got their initial flight training and the type of flying they did before becoming commercial pilots. I see it as a lack of basic airmanship skills in aircraft without automation, where the pilot really has to fly the airplane and develops skills that can’t be learned–or are difficult to learn–any other way. The increased use of simulators might be adding to the problem, as time in the simulator replaces time in the airplane. Simulators, of course, are important training tools but they cannot totally duplicate the experience of hand-flying.
With more than 40 years experience in the aviation industry, The Honorable John Goglia, was the first and only Airframe and Powerplant mechanic to receive a presidential appointment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He served from August 1995 to June 2004.
As a Board Member, Mr. Goglia distinguished himself in numerous areas of transportation safety. In particular, he was instrumental in raising awareness of airport safety issues, including the importance of airport crash fire and rescue operations and the dangers of wildlife at airports. He played a key role in focusing international attention on the increasing significance of aircraft maintenance in aviation accidents. He pressed, successfully, for greater integration of civilian and military safety information, becoming a featured speaker at national aviation symposiums attended by military leaders and major defense contractors. He is a leading proponent of airplane child safety seats.
Prior to becoming a Board Member, Mr. Goglia held numerous positions in the airline industry. He started as a mechanic for United Airlines and eventually joined Allegheny, which became USAir. Additionally, he was involved for more than 20 years as a union flight safety representative on accident investigation teams. There, he developed a safety program for his union, the International Association of Machinists, and was its representative for NTSB investigations. For twelve years, he operated his own aircraft service company.
Numerous prestigious groups have recognized Mr. Goglia’s contributions to aviation safety. Aviation Week & Space Technology awarded him a coveted 2004 Laurel for his outstanding service as an NTSB Board member. The Society of Automotive Engineers presented him with the Aerospace Chair Award for outstanding leadership in 2003 and the Marvin Whitlock Award for outstanding management accomplishment in 2002.
