Leaked memo reveals Qantas pilot errors due to pandemic break from flying

Many pilots around the world have been making operational errors as they return to the skies. Photo / Unsplash

Qantas pilots who are out of practice have been making mistakes in the air according to an internal memo from the carrier leaked to Australian media yesterday.

Written by Qantas' fleet operations chiefs, the memo described how operational errors had been recorded and was seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age.

The cause of the errors, the memo suggested, was too few flying hours as a result of the pandemic. For this reason, "recency" (spending time in the air) is a requirement for pilots.

According to the report, the pandemic "created a situation where expert pilots have lost recency and experienced a subsequent reduction in cognitive capacity".

Confusing altitude as airspeed, commencing take-off with a parking brake on and incorrectly positioned switches in the cockpit panel were cited as common errors.

"Combined with reduced flying across the network, we recognise a flow-on effect for flight crew's focus and familiarity with the operation," the memo stated.

"Routine items that used to be completed with a minimum of effort now occupy more time and divert attention away from flying the aircraft."

Qantas' flight operations team are responsible for supervising the performance of aircrafts and pilots; a task they believed was "especially important" after 19 months of disrupted operations.

The news follows a warning issued by the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) in December about how pilots could be at risk of making small mistakes due to fewer flying hours.

One such incident involved a TUI Airways flight in September, which spawned a preliminary report by AAIB. The branch found that the pilots had experienced "significant periods without flying in the preceding 18 months".

Despite completing flight simulator sessions during the pandemic, the AAIB warned that these don't fully "replicate moments of high crew workload".

Similarly, in the United States, the US Aviation Safety Reporting System released a report noting 128 incidents of pilot mistakes between March 2020 and June 2021 due to 'lack of flying'.

In the report, one pilot admitted he forgot to lower the plane wheels when landing, managing to pull them out just 250 metres from the tarmac.