{"id":38686,"date":"2020-12-03T21:55:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/12\/03\/pilots-maintainers-are-worn-out-and-under-trained-aviation-safety-commission-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:09:12","slug":"pilots-maintainers-are-worn-out-and-under-trained-aviation-safety-commission-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/03\/pilots-maintainers-are-worn-out-and-under-trained-aviation-safety-commission-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilots, maintainers are worn out and under-trained, aviation safety commission says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group of aviation experts tasked with getting to the bottom of a surge in deadly military aviation accidents during the last decade came back with its report on Thursday, and there\u2019s a lot that needs fixing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A confluence of cultural issues, budget shortfalls and a lack of oversight have contributed to a general malaise, according to the report, as well as a rash of deadly and costly mishaps from 2013 to 2018: 198 deaths, 157 aircraft destroyed and $9.41 billion lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite finding passionate professionals on flight lines around the world, the heads of the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety told reporters, a lack of flight hours, a stressed supply chain, high operational tempo and administrative distractions have left the community in a bit of disrepair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we found was that morale was generally degraded,\u201d Dick Healing, a retired Coast Guard pilot and vice chairman of NCMAS, told reporters in the morning, before he was due to brief the results of the commission\u2019s investigation<\/a> to members of the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That period dovetails seamlessly with congressionally-imposed budget sequestration that began in 2013 and was carried on by delayed proper budgets in the following years, but the commission did not blame it entirely on money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandated by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, NCMAS stood up after Military Time<\/a>s investigation<\/a> found that deadly mishaps rose 40 percent from 2013 to 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s going wrong?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite recovering that funding, the commission found that aviation units are still not getting enough flight hours, maintenance time and proper parts to keep everything running safely and smoothly, which is a likely contributor to accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 43 percent of mishaps are caused by human error, he explained, generally because someone didn\u2019t follow procedure to the letter, or properly coordinate with the other aircrew or those on the ground. Another 38 percent were due to environmental factors, like weather and visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remaining 19 percent were split among organization issues \u2015 among those, worn out parts or lack of proper manning \u2015 and supervision issues, which include superiors making bad judgment calls or not enforcing policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, human error is prevented by proficiency \u2015 for example, pilots and aircrew with so much recent experience that they are operating on instinct and able to troubleshoot problems with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But troops told the NCMAS members they, in many cases, they weren\u2019t getting enough flight hours. In the past, the issue had been budget cuts slashing the amount of time they could afford to be in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, according to retired Army Gen. Dick Cody, NCMAS chairman it\u2019s more an issue of prioritizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some young pilots are coming out of schoolhouses that lean heavily on hours in a simulator. That\u2019s great for practicing emergency procedures, he said, but not for gaining proficiency in the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in order to get them up to speed, their first units of assignment are spending flight hours closing that gap, rather than spreading them more evenly up through more experienced pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that, in turn, is resulting in more waivers, or units making exceptions for pilots assigned to missions who are about to fall out of balance with the required number of flight hours they need every 60 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have pilots being tasked to do missions that have been waivered,\u201d Cody said, adding that there have been \u201cway too many accidents right on the 60-day current limit, and they\u2019re out there flying a mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t