Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) was recently asked by the regional offices for ICAO in Nairobi, Kenya and Istanbul, Turkey to provide UPRT and simulator demonstrations to airlines, regulators, and global training experts concerning recently published ICAO Manual on Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) recommendations. Captain Clarke McNeace represented APS conducting numerous Airline UPRT demonstrations in the Boeing 777 full flight simulator.
Worldwide Airline UPRT Initiative
In a worldwide initiative, ICAO has begun conducting one and two-day workshops globally which are designed to educate aviation industry stakeholders of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) regarding UPRT as well as industry best practices pertaining to reducing the threat of Loss of Control-Inflight (LOC-I). LOC-I has been the leading cause of aviation fatalities for the past decade and ICAO, along with the FAA, EASA, Boeing, Airbus, CAE, APS and numerous other industry leaders have contributed significant resources to promoting an industry-wide consensus on effective pilot training methods to deal with upset events.
The ICAO Eastern and African (ESAF) Regional Office collaborated with the Regional Aviation Safety Group for Africa-Indian Ocean (RASG-AFI) in Nairobi to host a well organized three-day workshop at the end of June in which Captain McNeace presented on numerous topics to include: UPRT Flight Instructor Qualifications and the Gold Standard for UPRT throughout a pilot’s career. Nearly one hundred attendees of numerous African airlines, corporate flight departments, flight schools, and regulators were on-hand to hear a comprehensive workshop addressing the full-spectrum of UPRT implementation issues. Captain McNeace coordinated his presentations with Dr. Sunjoo Advani, former chairman of the ICATEE working group that led to global changes in training to prevent LOC-I. Dr. Advani has been recognized as a leading industry consultant for LOC-I mitigation services and his presentations helped the attendees to gain a greater historical and regulatory perspective.
During the first week of August, Turkish Airlines hosted ICAO’s Operational Safety Workshop in Istanbul. On the first day, Clarke assisted CAE’s Global Chief Safety Officer, Captain Lou Nemeth, and IATA’s Head of Training and Qualification, Viktor Robeck, answer numerous questions from the attendees of the two-day workshop. In similar fashion to the Nairobi workshop, ICAO delivered a well-received historical and regulatory perspective on industry wide UPRT. The follow-on question and answer period (Q&A) pertained to a variety of concerns such as simulator UPRT qualifications, UPRT instructor qualifications, program implementation timelines, regulator and evaluator training, UPRT implementation costs, and upset prevention and recovery techniques. APS’ Captain McNeace was able to demonstrate APS’s leading role in the delivery of integrated UPRT programs by thoroughly answering questions presented by the attendees. As the first opportunity for this global region to meet with APS and the other experts in-person, it allowed the attendees to get some facetime with the industry’s UPRT leaders. The second day, attendees were given a tour of the Turkish Airlines Training Facility and heard of it’s training contributions to over 165 other airlines. This day culminated in McNeace and Nemeth using two of the Turkish Airline simulators, Boeing 777 and Boeing 737 respectively, to conduct 20-minute back-to-back simulator demonstrations of how to deliver training in the conduct of recommended airline simulator upset training exercises to airline training managers and regulators attending the workshop. Attendees universally praised the high quality facilities and hospitality provided during the event.
APS International Involvement in LOC-I Mitigation Expands
APS is honored to dedicate time and resources to assist ICAO in reducing the risk of LOC-I to the world’s traveling public. Mitigating LOC-I through improved and standardized industry-wide UPRT is one of the top three priorities (along with runway safety and controlled flight into terrain) in the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan. The entire APS team is grateful to be part of ICAO’s industry initiatives to improve air safety worldwide.
Comments: