Delta Air Lines recently instituted a policy where the pilot and the co-pilot must confirm that the spoiler lever has been armed. Richard Buschmann, flying the plane when it crashed, was a veteran American Airlines pilot with 5,500 hours of flight time in the MD-80 series. But he was also the chief pilot in Chicago, so he was charged with supervising the performance of other pilots and only flew passenger planes two months each year. The airline hired the co-pilot, First Officer Michael Origel, in February, and he had less than 200 flight hours. In essence, neither pilot had much recent time in the cockpit.
New pilots are often reluctant to challenge senior fliers.
But American has led the airlines in developing Crew Resource Management techniques where captains are taught to accept participation and co-pilots are taught to speak up when they see a problem. It's hard to bring yourself to speak up when there's something going on that you may not be sure of. Inc. All rights reserved. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.