Delta Air Lines has halved precursor airplane upset conditions following the implementation of its upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) program, according to Aviation Performance Solutions (APS). Because loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) is a leading cause of fatal aviation accidents worldwide, UPRT programs have been required at all airlines since March 2019.
During the recent 2023 UPRT Safety Summit for Professional Pilots Worldwide event hosted by APS, Delta Air Lines lead UPRT subject matter expert (SME) Brian Sims presented data showing that an active UPRT program—one that is properly implemented, managed, and executed—can effectively reduce the number of precursor airplane upset flight conditions. Sims, a Boeing 757/767 pilot and instructor, said the 50 percent reduction came from a study using FOQA data analyzing five million flights over a five-year period.
Delta collaborated with APS on its UPRT program, which requires a minimum of two instructors per fleet to act as UPRT SMEs. Each SME must complete a comprehensive academic, on-aircraft, and advanced simulation UPRT train-the-trainer program at APS in Mesa, Arizona. They must then complete a program conducted by fleet-type at Delta with periodic oversight by APS SMEs onsite at the airline’s training center in Atlanta. In addition, Delta UPRT SMEs participate in recurrent training with APS.
As part of its LOC-I risk management strategy, Delta takes into account industry incidents and accidents as well as FOQA and ASAP analysis and trends, and it relies on UPRT and other company SMEs to provide guidance for enhancing its UPRT program. Delta effectively translates this information to its pilots through its training programs to elevate the academic understanding of LOC-I events.
Drilling down into the data, some of the precursor upset events identified were very specific to an aircraft type or phase of flight. In each case, these issues were identified and corrective actions were applied. Then, the issues were correlated to line operations through training. In addition, these threats were also addressed through aircraft systems upgrades, such as head-up flight displays.