Leaked Australia memo shows Qantas pilots making errors as they return from pandemic-induced breaks
- A report by the airline found that some pilots made mistakes such as starting take-off with the parking brake on and misreading the altitude as airspeed
- Qantas said it has ‘designed an enhanced return-to-work programme’ to address pilot rustiness
Among the errors listed in Qantas pilot reports: starting take-off with the parking brake on and misreading the altitude as airspeed, said a report by The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne’s Age.
It also cited switches in cockpit panels being in the wrong position, and crew looking back at an event and “not realising that they were overloaded or had lost situational awareness”.
The memo by Qantas’ fleet operations chiefs reportedly said the pandemic-related disruption to air travel meant pilots had less recent flight experience, a requirement known as “recency”.
As a result, the memo is quoted as saying, expert pilots “experienced a subsequent reduction in cognitive capacity”.
“Airlines around the world are working through the complex process of returning to pre-Covid operations, including bringing back pilots who experienced extended periods on the ground,” a Qantas spokeswoman said.
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Qantas recognised very early that it needed to reassess pilots’ recent and current flight time requirements as well as its “refamiliarisation programmes”, she said.