波音737MAX客机飞行员竟然这样学习驾驶该机型!(2)
“They were building the airplane and still designing it,” Mr. Bowen said. “The data to build a simulator didn’t become available until about when the plane was ready to fly.”
“他们一边设计一边建造着这个机型,”鲍恩说,“用于构建模拟机的数据直到飞机确定适飞后才可用。”
▲ After 2 Crashes of New Boeing Jet, Pilot Training Now a Focus (via NYT)
在美联航,飞行员们也经历着同样的事情。他们通过ipad软件学习了近两个小时波音提供的课程 ;连新机型都没见着没摸过的培训小组根据在模拟机中的驾驶经验整理了培训资料。这份资料里,对于新软件只字未提。
When United was set to take delivery of the 737 Max in 2017, a group of pilots put together training materials without ever flying the aircraft or a full simulator. James LaRosa, a 737 captain and union official who helped lead the training group, said he flew to a Boeing training center in Seattle to learn about the new plane on a mock cockpit that didn’t move like typical simulators.
2017年,当美联航空准备接收波音737Max时,一群从未驾驶过新机型或是完整模拟器的飞行员整理了培训材料。 詹姆斯⋅拉罗萨是一位波音737机长,同时也身兼工会职位,负责了培训小组的工作。他说他飞到西雅图的一家波音培训中心,在模拟驾驶舱上了解了这架新飞机的情况,但是这个模拟驾驶舱运作起来并不像典型的模拟器。
In addition to a two-hour iPad training course from Boeing, he and colleagues used their experience in the cockpit to create a 13-page handbook on the differences between the Max and its predecessor, including changes to displays and the engines. The training materials did not mention the new software that later became a focus of the Lion Air crash investigation.
除了波音公司两小时的iPad培训课程外,他和同事还根据他们在(模拟)驾驶舱的经验,编写了一本13页的手册,介绍Max和上一代机型的不同之处,包括显示器和引擎的变化。然而培训材料中并没有提到新的软件(MCAS),也正是这个软件后来成为狮航坠机调查的重点。
▲ After 2 Crashes of New Boeing Jet, Pilot Training Now a Focus (via NYT)
图 via 网络
美国航空飞行员工会发言人、737飞行员丹尼斯⋅塔吉尔(Dennis Tajer)认为“模拟机是安全飞行的重要部分,尤其是当你发现飞机上的系统大不相同,会影响飞机性能时”。
然而波音却在声明中称“737MAX是严格按照联邦航空管理局(FAA)对于新机型及衍生机型的要求和流程进行认证的”。FAA也在一则声明中说“我们的认证程序很完善”。
随着坠机事件调查的展开,737MAX的飞行员们才恍然大悟,他们并没有被告知这款衍生的新机型居然还有新软件。感恩节一过,飞行员工会就与波音官员会面要求给个说法。
“The first thing we talked about was the break of trust,” said Mr. Tajer, the American pilot union spokesman. “We called it disrespectful.”
“我们讨论的第一件事就是信任被打破了,”美国飞行员工会发言人塔吉尔说。“我们认为这是不尊重人的行为。”
According to Mr. Tajer, Boeing officials told American’s pilots that they hadn’t mentioned the new software because they didn’t want to “inundate” them with information.
据塔吉尔说,波音官员告诉这些飞行员,之所以没有提到新的软件,是怕他们一下收到太多新信息“应接不暇”。
The union told Boeing that it was now demanding simulators for its pilots. “We don’t really care what the F.A.A. requires,” Mr. Tajer said, recalling the meeting.
塔吉尔回忆那次会议时说,工会要求波音公司立即为飞行员提供模拟机,然而得到的回应居然是“我们真没那么在乎FAA的要求” 。
Boeing officials promised American and Southwest pilots a software fix within several weeks, but added that extra training was not necessary. Notifying the pilots of the nature of the software fix and how it would function would be enough.
波音公司官员向工会和西南航空公司的飞行员承诺,将在几周内修复软件,但他们补充说,没有必要进 行额外的培训,将软件修复的特点和功能通知飞行员就足够了。
▲ After 2 Crashes of New Boeing Jet, Pilot Training Now a Focus (via NYT)
飞行员们就这样被说服了。塔吉尔说,他们以为,一旦知道了新软件是如何工作的,自己就拥有“关于这个系统的所有信息,以及在系统发生冲突时及时中断系统的能力”。