Long but informative ... Thx Ramey H!
Seemed pretty obvious from the
beginning!
After I retired from XXX as a Standards Captain on
the (747)
400, I got a job as a simulator instructor working for Alteon (a
Boeing subsidiary) at Asiana. When I first got there, I was shocked and
surprised by the lack of basic piloting skills shown by most of the pilots. It
is not a normal situation with normal progression from new hire, right seat,
left seat taking a decade or two. One big difference is that ex-Military pilots
are given super-seniority and progress to the left seat much faster. Compared to
the US, they also upgrade fairly rapidly because of the phenomenal growth by all
Asian air carriers. By the way, after about six months at Asiana, I was moved
over to KAL and found them to be identical. The only difference was the color of
the uniforms and airplanes. I worked in Korea for 5 long years and although I
found most of the people to be very pleasant, its a minefield of a work
environment ... for them and for us expats.
One of the first things I learned was that the
pilots kept a web- site and reported on every training session. I dont think
this was officially sanctioned by the company, but after one or two simulator
periods, a database was building on me (and everyone else) that told them
exactly how I ran the sessions, what to expect on checks, and what to look out
for. For example; I used to open an aft cargo door at
100 knots to get them
to initiate an RTO and I would brief them on it during the briefing. This was on
the B-737 NG and many of the captains were coming off the 777 or B744 and they
were used to the Master Caution System being inhibited at 80 kts. Well, for the
first few days after I started that, EVERYONE rejected the takeoff. Then, all of
a sudden they all got it and continued the takeoff (in accordance with their
manuals). The word had gotten out. I figured it was an overall PLUS for the
training program.
We expat instructors were forced upon them after
the amount of fatal accidents (most of the them totally avoidable) over a decade
began to be noticed by the outside world. They were basically given an ultimatum
by the FAA, Transport Canada, and the EU to totally rebuild and rethink their
training program or face being banned from the skies all over the world. They
hired Boeing and Airbus to staff the training centers. KAL has one center and
Asiana has another. When I was there (2003-2008) we had about 60 expats
conducting training KAL and about 40 at Asiana. Most instructors were from the
USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand with a few stuffed in from Europe and
Asia. Boeing also operated training centers in Singapore and China so they did
hire some instructors from there.
This solution has only been partially successful
but still faces ingrained resistance from the Koreans. I lost track of the
number of highly qualified instructors I worked with who were fired because they
tried to enforce normal standards of performance. By normal standards, I would
include being able to master basic tasks like successfully shoot a visual
approach with 10 kt crosswind and the weather CAVOK. I am not kidding when
I tell you that requiring them to shoot a visual approach struck fear in their
hearts ... with good reason. Like this Asiana crew, it didnt compute that
you needed to be a 1000 AGL at 3 miles and your sink rate should be 600-800 Ft/
Min. But, after 5 years, they finally nailed me. I still had to sign my name to
their training and sometimes if I just couldnt pass someone on a check, I had no
choice but to fail them. I usually busted about 3-5 crews a year and the
resistance against me built. I finally failed an extremely incompetent crew and
it turned out he was the a high-ranking captain who was the Chief Line Check
pilot on the fleet I was teaching on. I found out on my next monthly trip home
that KAL was not going to renew my Visa. The crew I failed was given another
check and continued a fly while talking about how unfair Captain Xxxx was.
Any of you Boeing glass-cockpit guys will know
what I mean when I describe these events. I gave them a VOR approach with an 15
mile arc from the IAF. By the way, KAL dictated the profiles for all sessions
and we just administered them. He requested two turns in holding at the IAF to
get set up for the approach. When he finally got his nerve up, he
requested Radar Vectors to final. He could have just said he was ready for the
approach and I would have cleared him to the IAF and then Cleared for the
approach and he could have selected Exit Hold and been on his way. He was
already in LNAV/VNAV PATH. So, I gave him vectors to final with a 30 degree
intercept. Of course, he failed to Extend the FAF and he couldnt understand why
it would not intercept the LNAV magenta line when he punched LNAV and VNAV. He
made three approaches and missed approaches before he figured out that his
active waypoint was Hold at XYZ. Every time he punched LNAV, it would try
to go back to the IAF ... just like it was supposed to do. Since it was a check,
I was not allowed (by their own rules) to offer him any help. That was just one
of about half dozen major errors I documented in his UNSAT paperwork. He also
failed to put in ANY aileron on takeoff with a 30-knot direct crosswind (again,
the weather was dictated by KAL).
This Asiana SFO accident makes me sick and while I
am surprised there are not more, I expect that there will be many more of the
same type accidents in the future unless some drastic steps are taken. They are
already required to hire a certain percentage of expats to try to ingrain more
flying expertise in them, but more likely, they will eventually be fired too.
One of the best trainees I ever had was a Korean/American (he grew up and went
to school in the USA) who flew C-141s in the USAF. When he got out, he moved
back to Korea and got hired by KAL. I met him when I gave him some training and
a check on the B-737 and of course, he breezed through the training. I give him
annual PCs for a few years and he was always a good pilot. Then, he got involved
with trying to start a pilots union and when they tired to enforce some sort of
duty rigs on international flights, he was fired after being arrested and
JAILED!
The Koreans are very very bright and smart so I
was puzzled by their inability to fly an airplane well. They would show up on
Day 1 of training (an hour before the scheduled briefing time, in a 3- piece
suit, and shined shoes) with the entire contents of the FCOM and Flight Manual
totally memorized. But, putting that information to actual use was many times
impossible. Crosswind landings are also an unsolvable puzzle for most of them. I
never did figure it out completely, but I think I did uncover a few clues. Here
is my best guess. First off, their educational system emphasizes ROTE
memorization from the first day of school as little kids. As you know, that is
the lowest form of learning and they act like robots. They are also taught to
NEVER challenge authority and in spite of the flight training heavily
emphasizing CRM/CLR, it still exists either on the surface or very subtly. You
just cant change 3000 years of culture.
The other thing that I think plays an important
role is the fact that there is virtually NO civil aircraft flying in Korea. Its
actually illegal to own a Cessna-152 and just go learn to fly. Ultra- lights and
Powered Hang Gliders are Ok. I guess they dont trust the people to not start WW
III by flying 35 miles north of Inchon into North Korea. But, they dont
get the kids who grew up flying (and thinking for themselves) and hanging around
airports. They do recruit some kids from college and send then to the US or
Australia and get them their tickets. Generally, I had better experience with
them than with the ex-Military pilots. This was a surprise to me as I spent
years as a Naval Aviator flying fighters after getting my private in light
airplanes. I would get experienced F-4, F-5, F-15, and F-16 pilots who were
actually terrible pilots
if they had to hand fly the airplane. What a
shock!
Finally, Ill get off my box and talk about the
total flight hours they claim. I do accept that there are a few talented and
free- thinking pilots that I met and trained in Korea. Some are still in contact
and I consider them friends. They were a joy! But, they were few and far between
and certainly not the norm.
Actually, this is a worldwide problem involving
automation and the auto-flight concept. Take one of these new first officers
that got his ratings in the US or Australia and came to KAL or Asiana with 225
flight hours. After takeoff, in accordance with their SOP, he calls for the
autopilot to be engaged at 250 after takeoff. How much actual flight time is
that? Hardly one minute. Then he might fly for hours on the autopilot and
finally disengage it (MAYBE?) below 800 after the gear was down, flaps extended
and on airspeed (autothrottle). Then he might bring it in to land. Again, how
much real flight time or real experience did he get. Minutes! Of course, on the
777 or 747, its the same only they get more inflated logbooks.
So, when I hear that a 10,000 hour Korean captain
was vectored in for a 17-mile final and cleared for a visual approach in CAVOK
weather, it raises the hair on the back of my neck.
Xxxx
