Investigation Complete!
Transportation Safety Board of Canada released their report!
Read the full report here
This is the scenario:
500 feet: 150 knots, GS 121 knots, Thrust 64.1% and Descent 720 fmp
175 feet: 144 knots, GS 121 knots. Thrust 64.1% and Descent 672 fmp
153 feet: 154 knots, GS 121 knots, Pilot pulls thrust levers back! Thrust decreased to 43 % and stays there.
50 feet: (3.6 seconds from touchdown) 136 knots, GS 112 knots, Thrust 43 %, Descent 1114 fpm.
2.6 seconds from touchdown: “SINK RATE” warning. 136 knots, GS 111 knots, Thrust 43 %, Descent 1100 fpm. Bank: 4.7 right.
1.6 seconds from touchdown: 136 knots, GS 111 knots, Thrust 43 %, Descent 1072 fpm. Bank: 5.9 degrees right.
Less than one second to crash: 134 knots, GS 111 knots, Thrust 43 %, Descent 1110 fpm. Bank: 7.1 degrees right.
IMPACT: Bank 7.5 degrees right. Right gear hits. 1 degree pitch up. 3G vertical acceleration approximately `1098 fpm
Normal Rate of Descent: 700 fpm
Experience:
Captain: Pilot Monitoring. Employed since October 2007, with only 3570 hours total time. And… only 764 in type. That means he averaged just over 42 hours per year while working at Endeavor.
First Officer: Pilot Flying. Employed at Endeavor for just over one year, hired January 2024. 1422.3 hours total time. She held 418.7 on type.
He had been instructing in the simulator for 3 days and this was his first leg on the line. This was the first officer’s fifth day of flying.
Funny story: If any of this is humorous, you might find it interesting when my memoir is complete, that Delta’s Labor Relations attorney, Chris Puckett worked with Delta’s doctor, David Altman, to “mine” my records and figure out how much I flew. They went back to NWA days, and took into account my 12 years as a 747-Second Officer simulator instructor/check airman of which I was not allowed to log as “flight” hours, and averaged them with my current flight hours at Delta on the A330 and 747-400 to lower my perceived total time. The now CEO of Endeavor, Jim Graham. enable the use of this “skewed” low flight time as an indicator of poor mental health. Oh… the plot thickens. I think this low time theory is humorous for many reasons.
TRAINING THE NEW GENERATION OF PILOTS
I was surprised when I initially heard the captain was a simulator instructor, but this report confirms that. It also may confirm the Endeavor pilot who said, “Based on what I’ve known about James at EDV, he went to teach in the SIM because, like (REDACTED), he was afraid to fly in ‘weather’.”
Why was I surprised he was a simulator instructor? Any pilot instructor should be able to identify an unstable approach and yell “GO Around!” Any pilot flying should be able to do the same. On behalf of the first officer, with less than 1500 hours total time, and the assumption the captain, an instructor, knew better than her, I can see the default to his ultimate decision to land, and not execute the much needed go-around. Not that this is an excuse, but a reality due to the psychology of the pecking order and perceived experience.
An Endeavor crew did execute go around, 3 days ago, at which time they hit a wing. But that go around procedure ended better than this flight. Albeit, it is identified as an accident, but they walked off normally. Who is teaching these pilots how to land?
More so, this event is a demonstration of a highly unstable approach. The captain is an instructor who is teaching these new pilots, like the first officer, how to fly, and how, and when, to execute a missed approach. How in the world did this happen? Is he qualified to be an instructor? Maybe the FAA or Endeavor should ask who the “redacted” pilot is, also hiding in the simulator.
Flight Time Requirements
My husband, a non pilot who always asks the best questions, asked, “How was she flying without 1500 hours?”
I explained that the flight school students don’t need 1500 hours, they can get a restricted airline transport pilot license (R-ATP) with only 1000 hours.
He asked, “Who is teaching those students that enables them to get less flight time?”
I said, “The other students who have just finished their training.”
He asked, “How many hours does a pilot need to become an instructor?”
I said, “250 hours minimum.”
His eyebrows came together and he said, “You mean a pilot who is taught by a 250 hour student, is better training than a pilot who goes to the airport and has a retired airline captain or charter pilot teaching them how to fly?”
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF COMMON SENSE!
What do you think?
Is this an acceptable level of performance?
WHERE IS THE VOICE RECORDER?
We need to hear it! That will explain if the discussion or command to go-around was ever mentioned. This could be a learning moment for all of us.
