George’s Point of View

New technology is coming in 2013 that will replace pilots current “see and avoid” avoidance system over the Hudson, where pilots rely on listening to a traffic frequency to keep them out of harm’s way. Obviously, this is proving inadequate over the Hudson River where the helicopter and plane collided last August killing nine. All those buildings to avoid–and all those planes and helicopters too.

Until 2013, more regulations will be in place regarding what vehicle flies at which altitude. The new system will involve GPS tracking on visible receiver screens carried on planes and helicopters, a new take on old radar technology.

It’s never too late to save lives. Though one wonders if pilots can’t see a whole plane coming, (or conversely, a helicopter at nine o’clock, or right in front of them) if a blip on a screen is going to be more effective. Given the heavy traffic over the Hudson, it just might look like Space Invaders and how much good will that do?

For some things, you don’t need experts.

Anyone who has ever attempted driving cross-country without taking an overnight knows the answer to the question of whether or not fatigue affects your judgment while driving. Of course fatigue has an affect on making serious assessments. It happens while driving on the nation’s highways, so why should it be any different on the nation’s skyways?

But of course the experts have to chime in. At least this time they agree with the rest of the real world that fatigue is hazardous to judgement. Furthermore, there is airline culpability here, since those low-wage pilots were flying cross-country just to get TO work, there’s no way they could start their shift fresh. Pilot Marvin Renslow had flown from his Florida residence to Newark and either had no hotel room, stayed up, or napped in the Newark crew lounge (which at Colgan Air is a fireable offense.) His abysmal training/test record stands as its own worst advocate. Co-pilot Rebecca Shaw who lived in Seattle had just pulled an all-nightter so she could get a free ride to work–and she was sick.

The pilot and co-pilot of the Colgan flight were facing multiple issues. The speed of the plane had dropped. Ice had gathered on the wings. The shaker stick had engaged. Neither pilot nor co-pilot appeared to be familiar with how to handle icing; neither were adequately grounded on emergency procedure; neither knew whether this was a wing or tail stall (which affected whether or not the nose should be down); and neither knew what to do with the shaker stick.

That the pilots were discussing subjects not related to flying is a “red herring.”

Admittedly, they could have been paying more attention to what was going on, but think of how many of us who have driven long distances use conversation to help us stay alert in similar circumstances. Even if they’d been speaking exclusively of the emergency, doing so would not have been the magic bullet that filled in the gaps left by inadequate training. They still would not have known what to do.