Nervous fliers look away: The pilot’s arm came off during landing
mainIt was gusty, said the airline.
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I’m all for equal opportunity. But the fact that a pilot’s prosthetic arm can be dislodged is surely an extra element of unwanted danger as the aircraft is reaching the most dangerous part of the flight. I accept there are two pilots, but what if the second had had, say, a heart attack or a large bird had struck his windscreen at about the same time. Highly unlikely, of course. But then so is an arm coming loose in flight
In the private aviation sector the requirements are much less stringent and I know of paraplegic pilots for example. Regarding commercial aviation however, the pilot in question will have had to obtain a Certificate of Demonstrated Ability under the Joint Aviation Requirements which is administered by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This will have included simulator trials as well as real-life demonstration that the prosthetic does not unduly infringe on the pilots abilities, capability to operate an aircraft safely. Had the EASA found the prosthetic to cause a heightened risk, the pilot would not have been granted his license. Alas, mishaps will always be a part of our daily lives.
Fully accept your response. But it seems to me that mishaps like this are not acceptable in the cockpit of a commercial airliner. Clearly the pilot was very qualified to fly the plane. And it may be unfortunate that he forgot to make sure his prosthesis was properly secured. But isn’t that the very first thing he should have done prior to starting the take-off checklist? The fact is he didn’t. The fortunate fact is there was no accident.
Let’s remember that MH 017 was flying at an altitude over Ukraine that was approved by the relevant international administrating bodies. Tragically, that also resulted in a mishap.
Ok, let’s try to put this in any kind of relation with the subject of this blog. So, my question is: anybody heard of a conductor with a prosthetic arm?