Meat Plow wrote:

"Arfa Daily" wrote:
"Eeyore" wrote in message

Shame that the most common cause of airliner accidents is still 'pilot
error' !

Is that one a 'fact' or a guess ? Again, I'll ask my mate tomorrow if he
knows any stats on that ...

Human error is unfortunately the most common factor in aviation
mishaps. In the US the FAA doesn't permit idle cockpit chatter below
10k feet in commercial aircraft. We had a commuter go down not long
ago (Dash 8-400) if memory serves and pilot error was a factor since
the pilot and copilot were chatting about personal things instead of
paying attention to icing conditions and doing things like turning on
the deicing equipment and taking the Q400 off autopilot. They flew the
damn thing into the ground after they lost control of it.

That is indeed one I quoted. Pilot fatigue is now being increasingly seen as a
contributor to pilot error esp in the USA where pilot pay is low and pilots
commute long distances to work, thus making their day longer still.

Terms and conditions of work can make a big difference. Qantas has never lost a
single jet airframe for example. BA only lost ONE in its entire history in a
mid-air accident caused by a negligent flight controller. I think that makes BA
pretty much the safest airline to fly on overall numbers. And 'cultural norms'
make a big difference. It's no surprise to me that Asian and African airlines
have the worst accident rates.

Graham

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