Support systems

Gradually, history began to show that this was flawed logic. Incidents and accidents occurred where the signs were there in advance of the event but they were either not sought after or offered up. It was a waste of available resources created by an antiquated culture. It was a culture born of a time when airline captains were put on pedestals and when the pressures of wartime meant that aircraft cockpits were no place for committee meetings.

Still, CRM must be treated with a degree of caution.

CRM is about drawing upon the available people, resources and information to achieve the best outcomes. It is about being open to the input of others and reviewing a course of action, even once it is underway.

However, it is not about ‘group think’ or procrastination. Someone will always need to make the final decision and bear the ultimate responsibility and there is no escaping the fact that this will be the captain.

Sometimes I have seen CRM slotted in as a pseudo-replacement for leadership and nothing could be further from its intent. It is designed to enhance the tools at the leader’s disposal, not to remove command from the process.

Unfortunately, there have been instances when the great gifts of CRM have been used incorrectly and even reversed the cockpit gradient. Captains have stepped down too far and co-pilots have stepped up unnecessarily.

In an emergency, crew members need to be appropriately assertive, but for it to occur at the wrong time all too frequently can be akin to the boy crying wolf. Similarly, for a captain to reduce the role to that of a member on a consultative committee lays years of experience to waste. There will always need to be a cockpit gradient and maintaining that gentle, positive incline is as much art as science.

In all the attention paid to better flightdeck management, possibly the skill most overlooked is that of flying in support. Once seen as raising and lowering the landing gear and little more, the support pilot is now seen as an integral part of the flightdeck. Timely support not only reducesworkload on the flying pilot, but has been proven to avert disasters. However, up to now, support flying has also been a conundrum.

When newly hired airline first officers emerge from the simulator, they can often fly it as if it is on rails. Engine failures, low level go-arounds and even NDB approaches are a piece of cake. When they transfer to the aircraft for line training the emphasis on manipulative skills continues in conjunction with routine support tasks pre and post flight. However, the number of training sectors flown as a support pilot have traditionally been grossly outnumbered by those where the trainee is the pilot flying.

Consequently, on day one as a fully fledged line pilot, their exposure to flying support on an instrument approach or similar really dates back to the simulator. And on day one when rain is thrashing against the windscreen, this may well be the very skills that the captain needs on the flightdeck.

Traditionally, support flying has been a learned craft. Only exposure to different captains in different situations on different sectors has resulted in a balanced set of support skills. There hasn’t been a particularly defined syllabus as one would find for endorsement training on an aircraft type. Gradually the support pilot would learn what needed to be done in advance of the request and yet stand by patiently when needed. They would learn the time and place for speaking assertively as distinct from speaking so much that their words sound like background hash on a poorly tuned TV channel. In the end, no-one is listening.

Part pilot, part diplomat, the support pilot always needs to be ‘flying the aeroplane’. Even when sitting there in support there is the need to project ahead of the aircraft and maintain situational awareness, always assessing whether there is a need to descend or possibly extend the landing gear. Only when the support pilot is monitoring the flight thoroughly are they of real benefit to the pilot flying the aeroplane. Otherwise they are staring out the window aimlessly – they are a passenger, or even worse – for the pilot flying isn’t anticipating that a passenger will keep them on the straight and narrow.

CRM is constantly evolving. Its growing focus on the importance of the support pilot can be seen in the changing language. No longer will the support pilot be referred to as ‘pilot not flying’ or PNF, replaced by the term ‘pilot monitoring’. Logically, the new term reflects what is being done rather than what is NOT being done.

And while it is only a subtle change in words, it is a constant reminder that will be found in every checklist and manual. As with every aspect of CRM, it is not a precise science and its application can even vary between individuals. However, if crews continue to reflect upon how they can do their job better and airlines train for the entire range of skills required to safely navigate the skies, then we are on the right track. After all, aviation is a skill that will never be totally mastered and the real challenge lies in making the next flight better than the last one.