AIRLINE PILOTS SAFETY: ANALYSIS OF THE UNSTABLE APPROACH IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

Abstract

This work points out the potential human factors contributing to the increase of approach and landing errors (Unstable Approach) observed during the covid-19 pandemic, regarding of people management in a major airline located in South America. The airline pilot’s operation has a direct effect on flight safety and efficiency, particularly during the approach and landing stage, where pilots must deal with high workloads and complex procedures. A stabilized approach is a key feature for a safe landing and according to the IATA Air Accident Data Exchange Database (AIDX) and an Unstable Approach was a contributing factor for 26% of the approach and landing accidents recorded between 2016-2020 (IATA, 2020). UAs reduction is a recurring goal of the aviation industry, and air operators have strict criteria that must be met during the approach and landing phase. These criteria are based on a series of predetermined parameters, which are typically defined by airspeed, aircraft configuration, vertical descent ratio, lateral and vertical maximum deviations from the aircraft's optimal path toward the runway. Aviation is an extremely data-rich sector; however, it is not always easy to identify significant signs that may promote positive change. The study provides resonant signaling of the increase in unstable approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the airline pilot’s performance. The data were collected from January 2019 to November 2022 and show a cubic increase in the unstable approaches during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 even with a slowdown in air transport activity in course. The results shows that the performance of the pilots was a contributing variable to the irregular and unpredictable behavior of unstable approach indices during the pandemic.