Loss of control inflight (LOC-I) accidents continue to account for the highest percentage of aviation fatalities, but industry studies suggest the rate of these accidents is improving, Paul “B.J.” Ransbury—the CEO of upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) specialist, Aviation Performance Solutions (APS)—said on Thursday during a Global Industry UPRT Update webinar. He covered a statistical review of LOC-I accident data and summarized the results of a survey with input from more than 120 UPRT experts and operators that included discussions on training advancements, new initiatives, and other topics of interest.
“As we finally see UPRT emerging as a focus area, it is important for operators and stakeholders to be aware of the inherent challenges faced by the industry as an all-new domain of safety intervention evolves,” Ransbury said. “While there is a long way to go, the industry is taking overall positive steps in the right direction.”
Before this event, APS surveyed 19 industry UPRT experts and more than 100 operational participants, including individuals from air carriers, regulators, training providers, OEMs, flight-test organizations, and higher learning educational and research organizations. Responses from the survey framed much of the forward-looking perspectives of the presentation to include UPRT events, developments, and initiatives.
Major findings from the study included a need for increased global UPRT implementation, improved training in startle management, and more focus on UPRT instructor and curriculum standardization. Respondents point to a greater need for on-aircraft training experience for UPRT subject matter experts and instructors and more focus on instructor drift. Likewise, instructors need more training and confidence on using the instructor operating stations that are part of the extended envelope training devices.
Ransbury suggested that the survey results call for “a paradigm shift in how the industry approaches UPRT, how we teach it, how we train the instructors, and the effect of integration of on-aircraft training for both airline and other pilots operating around the world.” He added, “On-aircraft training is important for the instructors to understand psychophysiological incapacitation and other challenges that pilots experience in the cockpit during an upset.”