Rule changes coming for co-pilots
The amount and type of flying experience first officers — also known as co-pilots — must have to qualify to fly for an airline will be significantly increased and expanded under new regulations announced Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration. The regulations require first officers to have at least 1,500 hours of flying experience. Airline captains are already required to have at least 1,500 hours. Previously, first officers were only required to have 250 hours of flight time. The rule also requires first officers to have an aircraft-type rating, which involves additional training and testing specific to the type of airplane they fly. The FAA said it expects to publish the regulations soon. It is unlikely the regulations would have made a difference had they been in place since the pilot flying the Asiana plane had nearly 10,000 hours of flying experience.
As Flight 214 descended over San Francisco Bay, both Asiana Airlines pilots were in new roles.
In the left seat of the cockpit sat Lee Gang-kuk, a 46-year-old pilot with just 35 hours of experience flying a Boeing 777 who was landing the big jet for his first time at San Francisco International Airport. At his right was Lee Jeong-Min, a trainer making his first trip as an instructor pilot.
While the two men had years of aviation experience, this mission involved unfamiliar duties, and it was the first time they had flown together. The flight came to a tragic end when the airliner crash-landed Saturday, killing two passengers and injuring many others.
Experts say investigators trying to piece together what went wrong will consider, among other factors, the pairing of the pilots, who were assigned to work together through a tightly regulated system developed after several deadly crashes in the 1980s that were blamed in part on inexperience in the cockpit.
The National Transportation Safety Board “is definitely going to focus on what type of policy Asiana had in terms of crew pairing,” former NTSB Chairman James Hall said. “That’s what the airline needs to do, be responsible so that in the cockpit you’re matching the best people, especially when you’re introducing someone to a new aircraft.”
Pilots are typically paired by management and are not allowed to choose their partners in the cockpit.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology aeronautics professor Mary Cummings said it’s common for two commercial pilots to be assigned to the same flight without ever working together before. Airlines have standardized, formal procedures to facilitate teams of strangers.
Details emerging from pilot interviews, cockpit recorders and control-tower communications indicate that Lee Gang-kuk, who was halfway through his certification training for the Boeing 777, and his co-pilot and instructor, Lee Jeong-Min, thought the airliner’s speed was being controlled by an autothrottle, which was set for 157 mph.
When the pilots realized the plane was approaching the waterfront runway too low and too slow, they both reached for the throttle. Passengers heard a loud roar as the plane revved up in a last-minute attempt to abort the landing.
The two pilots at the controls during the accident had also been in the cockpit for takeoff. Then they rested during the flight while a second pair of pilots took over. The two pairs swapped places again about 90 minutes before landing, giving the trainee a chance to fly during the more challenging approach phase.
The investigation is ongoing, and Hersman cautioned against speculating about the cause.
Nearly 20 survivors remained hospitalized Wednesday, and families arrived to care for many of them.
Two flight attendants thrown from the airliner during the accident were among those hurt. One of them has been identified as 25-year-old Maneenat Tinnakul, whose father told the Thairath newspaper the family was given a visa to visit their daughter in San Francisco. He said Maneenat suffered a minor backache. Another flight attendant, identified as Sirithip Singhakarn, was reportedly in an intensive care unit.
Meanwhile, fire officials continued their investigation into whether one of their trucks might have run over one of the two Chinese teenagers killed in the crash. The students, Wang Linjia and Ye Mengyuan, were part of a larger group headed for a Christian summer camp with dozens of classmates. Several of those camps have been canceled and the students are returning home.
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