Only the initial training is done on a SIM. Recurrent training is not done on a sim. First Officers do not do SIM, and the 3 hrs of training (which I did on reposition legs) was a bit of a joke. Sending everyone for sim training is a huge expense, and despite the huge safety advantage, most 703 companies probably wont send their guys unless mandated by transport.
Did anyone else notice the media release that Peace Air sent out regarding the mishap in YXJ? see
http://peaceair.net/jan_9.html
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January 9 Incident
Dear Customers:
On January 9th, 2007 one of Peace Air Ltd. aircraft was involved in an incident at the Fort St. John Airport. Over the next couple of weeks we will be conducting both an internal and several external Safety Audits to ensure all the contributing factors are accounted for. The goal as always will be to provide you with the
highest standard of safety in the industry. In the interim it is important to review some of the preliminary results of our investigation and the steps taken to date.
The weather forecast for January 9th, 2007 was poor. Our Captain on the flight inspected the weather before departing Grande Prairie on a scheduled flight to Fort St John. At the time the weather did not indicate any changes from his first briefing. However, on approach into Fort St. John the weather had significantly changed since his departure. The visibility had deteriorated to ¼ mile and the winds were gusty. Having the legal weather criteria for an approach and having experienced this type of weather before the crew elected to continue the approach.
The preliminary report indicates that the gusty conditions likely created a low level wind shear. Wind shear occurs where there is a rapid change in wind direction and/or speed. This will cause the aircraft to descend very quickly with no prior warning to the crew. Given the poor visibility and the wind shear at the same time caused the aircraft to touchdown prior to the runway.
Although the early touchdown caused some damage to the aircraft, no one on board was injured. The aircraft did come to a stop on the runway and they waited for emergency vehicles to arrive before exiting the aircraft. All passengers were medically examined upon arrival to the terminal.
At this time we have no reason to believe the crew was complacent in there duties or that the aircraft experienced any malfunction. All Peace Air Ltd. personnel have been trained to deal with this type of situation and in this case everyone responded promptly and professionally.
We will continue to complete this investigation using our Safety Management System, and work closely with Transport Canada as well as an external Safety Auditing company. If there are any concerns with Peace Air Ltd’s operations or further questions please call me at our toll free number.
Sincerely,
Bill Vasquez,
Operations Manager,
Peace Air Ltd. 1-800-563-3060
