Monday, September 6, 2010

Let stewardesses land the plane in a crisis, says Ryanair boss: Airline wants to ditch co-pilots

Flight plans: Ryanair cabin crew could be trained as pilots so that they could take over and land the plane in the event of a crisisRyanair's ever-controversial boss has called for the second pilot to be dumped from the flight deck of aircraft to save money.

Michael O'Leary suggested air stewardesses could be trained to take over and land the plane in the event of a crisis.

The idea is the latest in a long line of cash-saving wheezes from the budget airline boss who once suggested, apparently seriously, that aircraft could fly with standing-only areas for passengers.

Mr O'Leary suggested ripping up the existing safety regime in a magazine interview.

'Why does every plane have two pilots? Really, you only need one pilot,' he said.

Suggesting flying a plane was little more difficult than playing a computer game, he said: 'Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it.'

Asked what would happen if the single pilot suffered a heart attack, he said one of the cabin crew would be trained to land a plane.

'If the pilot has an emergency, he rings the bell, he calls her in. She could take over,' he told Bloomberg BusinessWeek.



But the idea was immediately ridiculed as a dangerous fantasy by pilots.

Patrick Smith, a long-serving pilot, told the magazine it was 'beyond preposterous'.

He accused Mr O'Leary of stoking the common misconception that planes more or less fly themselves.

'Even in routine operations, it's important to have a second person there,' he said.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, said: 'Are there no lengths to which he will not go to get publicity? His suggestion is unwise, unsafe and the public will be horrified.' ...



via Let stewardesses land the plane in a crisis, says Ryanair boss: Airline wants to ditch co-pilots | Mail Online.

If they give the stewardesses extra training as co-pilots and make them pass tests, then fine.

1 comment:

Fred said...

This is a totally rediculous idea. The second crewmember is vital to the safe operation of a commercial aircraft. Putting the lives of passengers in the hands of an incompetent stewardess is STUPID. This is especially true if the pilot in command becomes incapacitated, which is presumably the case.