At present, manufacturers of aircraft build their planes and provide, often at an additional expense, the manufacturer’s suggested pilot training curriculum. That pilot training curriculum may be purchased and utilized by the aircraft operator, or the operator may develop their own “in-house” pilot training. From my personal experience at three airlines, Republic, Northwest, and Delta, their “in-house” pilot training programs varied greatly from the manufacturer’s available pilot training curriculum. Even though those three “in-house” training programs and their associated Standard Operating Procedures were adequately safe and effective, they varied so widely from the manufacture’s training curriculum and Standard Operating Procedures that they left much to be desired in the way of safety. I could cite example after example where transport category or other types of aircraft were crashed due to pilot error. On occasion, those crashes can be directly traced to an operator’s “in-house” pilot training deficiency.
I propose that all worldwide operators of a particular type of aircraft adhere to the same pilot training curriculum and Standard Operating Procedures developed by the aircraft manufacturers. Every pilot or crew of a specific aircraft would receive the same training, and utilize the same checklists and Standard Operating Procedures created by the manufacturers or their approved board. The standardized pilot training curriculum, checklists, and Standard Operating Procedures would allow no variance from operator to operator or airline to airline. The effect of this proposed change would both eliminate the holes or pitfalls in an individual operator’s self-developed training program and, over time, perfect the manufacture’s approved program, thereby eliminating any deficiencies at the point of origin. All operators of a particular aircraft would be “on the same page” or operating the aircraft identically. Should there be a need for change in the approved program, all operators of that type of aircraft worldwide would be informed of the required change and why the change is necessary.
-Randy