Advaita Katha is about experiential learning. Learn from the tales narrated by an air crash survivor.

The irregularities in operations and compromise in safety while flying helicopters in mountainous areas was identified in the June 2022 audit by DGCA. The audit took place after being forced under public pressure after a video of a hard landing at Kedarnath emerged in the social media. A fine of just INR 5 lac was akin to legalising crimes and the unsupervised flying continued.

66% of pilots who participated in the survey responded that they have inadvertently dozed off in the cockpit without informing the other pilot.

Advaita Katha In its simplest form, storytelling remains a powerful element of learning, with the narrative being equally as compelling as books and presentations. They humanize learning. It offers us the opportunity to connect to like-minded characters, or see the world literally from within someone else’s skin. Stories touch our emotions and help develop empathy.Plus, no matter how organized or detailed a textbook might be, there’s something about the shape of a narrative—the exposition, the problem, the quest for a solution, the resolution—that resonates with our mental makeup.Storytelling has been an integral part of Indian culture for generation, with each region developing its own unique style of narration.Let the worldly wise, who have seen the skies share and give others a short respite.On that note, let the words flow …..www.advaitakatha.com 

The fuselage of the Aloha Boeing failed, despite the fact that it was designed and built to well proven rules. Why? The whole industry had become complacent about maintenance and particularly about the durability of old aircraft. To put this in perspective the accident aircraft was nineteen years old, older no doubt than the cars driven by most of the passengers. The aircraft had operated for 35,496 hours, in other words it had actually been up in the air for a total of four years. The aircraft had taken off 89,680 times, that means each flight had averaged only about 25 minutes. Every 25 minutes the skin, the frames and the joints had been stretched as the fuselage had been pumped up to maximum pressure. How could the airlines and their mechanics have become complacent about their planes while treating them like this?

Boeing was concerned about its old aircraft in general terms, it too was complacent about the fuselage. This was because of a naive faith in a concept called the "lead crack". Boeing engineers believed that if the fuselage did crack anywhere, a single "lead crack" would grow along the skin until it reached a fuselage frame, then it would turn at right angles and a triangular shaped tear would blow out and safely dump fuselage pressure. Boeing is a close knit company and when an idea like this takes hold it becomes accepted as gospel. It went unchallenged by most of the FAA. The British and Australian authorities never accepted the concept but needed an accident to prove them right.(Lessons from Aloha: Martin Aubury)

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The Runway Overrun Protection System (ROPS) is designed to alert the flight crew in the case of potential runway overrun situation. The overrun warning (ROW) function automatically arms at 400ft AGL and works until start of braking. The Runway overrun protection (ROP) works from start of braking until the aircraft stops. The surprising part is that the ROW/ROP LOST fault which is triggered when the ROW/ROP is lost is inhibited below 800feet on the final approach till the aircraft decelerates to 80 kts speed. Effectively, the pilot is unaware of any fault in the system when the system is expected to be deployed and functioning. Isn't this giving the flight crew a false sense of safety whereas the system could be functioning or not functioning. I am sure that a lot of though must have gone behind the logic but definitely worth a discussion.

Listen to the congress sub-committee hearing on the 5G issue. The 5G mess in the USA has exposed the corporate culture in the USA where lobbies decide on the course of action. Is it the $81 billion which is shaping the policy or aviation safety? Safety is always a balance between production and protection. Too much of anything is bad.