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Lufthansa CEO thinks passengers are not ready to travel on large planes with only one pilot
Brussels - According to Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, it is technically possible to assign only one pilot per flight, but passenger trust is a problem. (airlinerwatch.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I'd be fine with it in cruise phases (with a standby pilot on duty but not necessarily in the cockpit), but we *continue* to have accidents and disasters exacerbated by crew overload, especially in modern congested airspaces (and ATC still manually accomplished via voice). For instance the Qantas A380 engine explosion -- would that not have ended worse if there hadn't been *5* pilots in the cockpit purely by coincidence?
One pilot is a bad idea. On long legs in particular at night the potential for the pilot flying to become fatigued and follow a sleep is definitely possible. Having two pilots up front is important to prevent this.
No, both pilots have fallen asleep many times. The loudest snorer usually wakes the other up though.
I agree with Herr Spohr's hypothesis on the public accepting single pilot ops at this time. They (we) are not ready.
However, he was either misquoted or he is unaware of the current regs on pilots sleeping on long haul flights. On long haul flights schedules over eight hous, a relief pilot is added to the crew to allow one to sleep in a crew rest area or seat and still have two pilots at the controls. On flights scheduled over 12 hours, two relief pilots and a sleeping area with beds are required in order to allow adequate rest for the primary crew.
From the article. "Spohr also said that it still will be an option to put only one pilot in the cockpit in the future. "On current long haul flights, one of the pilots can go to sleep, while the other is in command. 'In that case, the systems check the pilot or vice versa', said Spohr on the sidelines of the A4E (Airlines for Europe) summit in Brussels".
However, he was either misquoted or he is unaware of the current regs on pilots sleeping on long haul flights. On long haul flights schedules over eight hous, a relief pilot is added to the crew to allow one to sleep in a crew rest area or seat and still have two pilots at the controls. On flights scheduled over 12 hours, two relief pilots and a sleeping area with beds are required in order to allow adequate rest for the primary crew.
From the article. "Spohr also said that it still will be an option to put only one pilot in the cockpit in the future. "On current long haul flights, one of the pilots can go to sleep, while the other is in command. 'In that case, the systems check the pilot or vice versa', said Spohr on the sidelines of the A4E (Airlines for Europe) summit in Brussels".
Commercial airliners have 2 or more pilots for redundancy. Regardless, almost all phases of flight require a PF and PM. If QF32 or U.S Airways 1549 were without an F/O let alone 3 additional pilots (QF32 scenario), I believe the outcomes in both instances would have been much different...
Don't forget, a Lufthansa Germanwings pilot, intentionally crashed his aircraft killing himself and everyone on board after locking the cockpit door.
There is significant workload even with two pilots and no emergency. Imagine the Quantas A380 engine explosion or Southwest explosive decompression events. Two pilots really does make sense.