Impact of COVID -19 on Pilot Proficiency – A Risk Analysis

Rajee Olaganathan Rajee Olaganathan,Roli Angelo H Amihan Roli Angelo H Amihan

doi:10.30574/gjeta.2021.6.3.0023

Rajee Olaganathan Rajee Olaganathan, Roli Angelo H Amihan Roli Angelo H Amihan

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.30574/gjeta.2021.6.3.0023

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Abstract

Pilot proficiency is essential in the aviation industry to maintain a safety record for successfully operating airlines. The current COVID-19 scenario has made it practically difficult for pilots to achieve the federal requirements stated in Title 14 CFR 121.439 (a) and 14 CFR 61.57 (a) (1). It has placed a burden on pilots to maintain their currency and proficiency related to cost and lack of aircraft access due to furloughs and lay-offs. The purpose of the first part of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on global air traffic based on the data collected from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). The second part of this research study aims to assess the pilot’s proficiency before and after COVID-19 was officially declared as pandemic to identify any threats to aviation safety based on the incident reports submitted in the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The findings show that the highest reduction in flight operations was observed during May 2020 with -70.67 % compared with May 2019 at the global level. Middle East region witnessed a -57.35 % reduction in flight operations. Based on the number of flights operated in the year 2020, the Asia-Pacific region was the most affected region with 4,913,303 fewer flights than in the year 2019. For the U.S. domestic air traffic, a severe impact occurred in May 2020 with a -70.88 % reduction and 532,834 fewer flights than in May 2019 which was similar to the global air traffic trend. The number of incident reports filed by pilots regarding proficiency-related to COVID-19 issues in the ASRS data analysis increased by 1000% during this pandemic period. The results and recommendations of this research study will provide valuable information to the aviation industry that can aid in developing mitigation measures to decrease future aviation accidents related to pilot proficiency.

Highlights

Air travel is a crucial part of transportation around the world
The second part of this study aims to find whether pilots’ proficiency in flying an aircraft was affected by COVID-19's impact on air travel
The selected events included Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT)/ Controlled Flight to Terrain (CFTT), Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I), and Un-stabilized approach, as these are the common incident associated with pilot's reduced or lack of proficiency

Summary

Introduction

Air transportation is vulnerable to external threats like recession, natural disaster, oil crises, and disease outbreaks. These threats severely affect global air travel by increasing flight cancellations, causing the grounding of aircraft, travel bans, and closure of international borders. These threats have affected both the aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues [1]. By the end of March 2020, approximately 98 percent of the global air transport passenger revenues faced severe restrictions like quarantine for arriving passengers, partial travel bans, and complete border closures in a few countries. COVID - 19 has affected the day-to-day life of people worldwide, and most of the countries have prioritized public health over economic growth and have ceased their flying operations

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