The tragedy with the "Superjet" confirmed the worst fears in civil aviation
The tragedy that occurred on May 5 at Sheremetyevo Airport again put on the agenda the issue of the deplorable state of domestic aviation in the broad sense of the word. Some sin on the Superjet, others on the notorious human factor, while others talk about the problems of the system as a whole. Let's try to figure it out.
The Superjet project is constantly criticized:
At first, "Russian novelty" in three quarters consists of imported components.
Secondly, the manufacturing company did not bother to create an appropriate service network for after-sales service for many years. Because of this, most of the time, the short-haul airliner is on the ground, waiting for a long time for spare parts for repairs. The Mexican air carrier, which purchased Superjets, was forced to disassemble part of them for components for other aircraft, which caused claims to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.
Thirdly, the developers managed to initially fit into the narrowest niche - the liner with 100 seats, which is clearly evidenced by its name. World demand for aircraft of this class does not exceed, according to experts, 60-70 units per year. The liners with the number of seats from 65 to 75 are much more in demand in short-haul transportation. The Brazilian Embraer and Canadian Bombardier hold the palm here.
The authorities set a goal to make a shortened version of the "Superjet", but here everything is not easy. Well-known Russian expert Roman Gusarov explains:
Billions of budget funds were actually spent on the “dead end branch of evolution." In the old days, something like this would be called "sabotage" with all the ensuing consequences. But today, those involved in the project continue to be respected people. Does all this in itself make the Superjet a bad plane, especially considering that the Sheremetyevo disaster has become the 20th emergency since 2012?
The question is not entirely clear. On the one hand, disasters with human casualties occurred in both Brazilian and Canadian competitors. On the other hand, there were many more aircraft produced there, and they fly much more often than the Superjet. Most likely, it should be recognized that the “Russian novelty” is not so much bad as an unsuccessful aircraft, “damp” and not quite consistent with the declared market segment. How much profanity is in this, and how much someone’s intent is a question for the authorized bodies.
But are the consumer qualities of the Superjet a direct cause of the tragedy?
Both the pilot of the unfortunate flight and the passengers claim that lightning has hit the plane. It is rather strange that it could lead to disruptions in the operation of on-board systems, given that modern liners should be equipped with lightning protection, which we are talking about told earlier.
Another question is why the aircraft commander decided to fly through a thunderstorm. Why didn’t it fly around, why didn’t I sit on the alternate aerodrome? The answer is "economic expediency ”: airline delays in flight delays, schedule failures are disadvantageous for the airline, for which the pilot may get scolded by the management. For the same reason, the Boeing 737-800 landed in Sochi last year under bad weather conditions, which affected 18 people.
Already, the most realistic version of the cause of the crash is called poor pilot training, as well as the inconclusive work of rescue services at the airport. The Superjet commander decided to sit down with full tanks without running out of fuel, and also did not try to enter the next lap when it became clear that there were problems with the landing. Alexander Melikhov, an old-school pilot, explains:
And it is true. The "Reporter" repeatedly spoke about the deplorable situation in civil aviation in our country. Today, flight schools give poor training; they teach flying on obsolete Diamond aircraft, which are not actually used. Hours of flight are few, experienced instructors are not enough. Airplane control, where everything is tied to electronics, becomes a real challenge for such pilots.
As a result, airlines are forced to re-train their new employees, but this happens in an accelerated mode, and not everyone has the appropriate equipment. Andrey Litvinov, a 1st-class pilot, explains:
According to the pilot, training takes an average of one and a half to two years instead of the ideal ten years. There are big problems with retraining. On the basis of anonymity, some civilian pilots report:
Experienced pilots of the old school prefer to work abroad, where salaries are much higher. Those who stayed fly on Airbus and Boeing, and are not in a hurry to retrain on Superjets, which the government strongly recommends to domestic carriers. As a result, at the controls of their cabs is a "young shoot" that does not have much experience.
Those familiar with the problems of the industry believe that only the creation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation can solve its systemic collapse, under the supervision of which all educational institutions, air carriers and airports of the country will be assembled.
Bad plane?
The Superjet project is constantly criticized:
At first, "Russian novelty" in three quarters consists of imported components.
Secondly, the manufacturing company did not bother to create an appropriate service network for after-sales service for many years. Because of this, most of the time, the short-haul airliner is on the ground, waiting for a long time for spare parts for repairs. The Mexican air carrier, which purchased Superjets, was forced to disassemble part of them for components for other aircraft, which caused claims to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.
Thirdly, the developers managed to initially fit into the narrowest niche - the liner with 100 seats, which is clearly evidenced by its name. World demand for aircraft of this class does not exceed, according to experts, 60-70 units per year. The liners with the number of seats from 65 to 75 are much more in demand in short-haul transportation. The Brazilian Embraer and Canadian Bombardier hold the palm here.
The authorities set a goal to make a shortened version of the "Superjet", but here everything is not easy. Well-known Russian expert Roman Gusarov explains:
Through the efforts of the creators and consultants, Superjet was designed so that it cannot be extended or shortened - any such change leads to an almost complete alteration of the machine.
Billions of budget funds were actually spent on the “dead end branch of evolution." In the old days, something like this would be called "sabotage" with all the ensuing consequences. But today, those involved in the project continue to be respected people. Does all this in itself make the Superjet a bad plane, especially considering that the Sheremetyevo disaster has become the 20th emergency since 2012?
The question is not entirely clear. On the one hand, disasters with human casualties occurred in both Brazilian and Canadian competitors. On the other hand, there were many more aircraft produced there, and they fly much more often than the Superjet. Most likely, it should be recognized that the “Russian novelty” is not so much bad as an unsuccessful aircraft, “damp” and not quite consistent with the declared market segment. How much profanity is in this, and how much someone’s intent is a question for the authorized bodies.
But are the consumer qualities of the Superjet a direct cause of the tragedy?
Money?
Both the pilot of the unfortunate flight and the passengers claim that lightning has hit the plane. It is rather strange that it could lead to disruptions in the operation of on-board systems, given that modern liners should be equipped with lightning protection, which we are talking about told earlier.
Another question is why the aircraft commander decided to fly through a thunderstorm. Why didn’t it fly around, why didn’t I sit on the alternate aerodrome? The answer is "economic expediency ”: airline delays in flight delays, schedule failures are disadvantageous for the airline, for which the pilot may get scolded by the management. For the same reason, the Boeing 737-800 landed in Sochi last year under bad weather conditions, which affected 18 people.
Money again?
Already, the most realistic version of the cause of the crash is called poor pilot training, as well as the inconclusive work of rescue services at the airport. The Superjet commander decided to sit down with full tanks without running out of fuel, and also did not try to enter the next lap when it became clear that there were problems with the landing. Alexander Melikhov, an old-school pilot, explains:
In any situation, the aircraft can be controlled manually, for this there is a helm and pilots hands. Another thing is that today piloting an airplane manually is not worked out as it should.
And it is true. The "Reporter" repeatedly spoke about the deplorable situation in civil aviation in our country. Today, flight schools give poor training; they teach flying on obsolete Diamond aircraft, which are not actually used. Hours of flight are few, experienced instructors are not enough. Airplane control, where everything is tied to electronics, becomes a real challenge for such pilots.
As a result, airlines are forced to re-train their new employees, but this happens in an accelerated mode, and not everyone has the appropriate equipment. Andrey Litvinov, a 1st-class pilot, explains:
Now these raw boys come after Diamond, they need to be re-taught as soon as possible.
According to the pilot, training takes an average of one and a half to two years instead of the ideal ten years. There are big problems with retraining. On the basis of anonymity, some civilian pilots report:
Now the pilot is asked 900 questions once a year, and he sits on a computer and answers them. And this is all retraining.
Experienced pilots of the old school prefer to work abroad, where salaries are much higher. Those who stayed fly on Airbus and Boeing, and are not in a hurry to retrain on Superjets, which the government strongly recommends to domestic carriers. As a result, at the controls of their cabs is a "young shoot" that does not have much experience.
Those familiar with the problems of the industry believe that only the creation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation can solve its systemic collapse, under the supervision of which all educational institutions, air carriers and airports of the country will be assembled.
Information