UPS will add a safety system to its aircraft that displaces smoke in a plane's cockpit, one of several changes the Sandy Springs logistics company is considering in light of a September crash in Dubai that killed two pilots.
The addition of the Emergency Vision Assurance System to all planes is a direct response to the Sept. 3 crash, UPS spokesman Norman Black said. While the cause of a fire on the plane has yet to be determined, a preliminary report from the United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority, released Sunday, confirmed that smoke in the cockpit made it more difficult for the pilots to see their flight instruments.
The Independent Pilots Association, a union that represents UPS' 2,800 pilots, had advocated for the equipment for years, said Brian Gaudet, the union's public affairs director. Gaudet said smoke in the cockpit is a problem on about two flights a day worldwide.
The system will be installed on all of UPS' 216 planes, beginning with Boeing 767s on which the device is already certified and moving on to planes, like the 747-400 that crashed, that make transoceanic flights.
Gaudet described the system as similar to an inflatable beach ball, saying pilots press their face against the device and are able to breathe clean air and see their flight path and instruments.
The systems cost $34,000 apiece, said Bertil Werjefelt, the president and CEO of manufacturer VisionSafe, though he would not say what UPS will pay.
"If there's another layer of safety equipment we can put in place to help the pilots, that's something we want to do," Black said.
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