Published on : Tuesday, December 30, 2014
2014 for the Malaysia aviation industry has been a difficult year with three major mishaps – the disappearance of Flight MH 370, the tragic missile bomb attack of MH317 and now the AirAsia Flight QZ8501. The region’s aviation facilities have been subjected to great controversy and unanswered questions.
With technology touching high standards the odds of any person dying in a plane crash is 1 in every 11 million, but 2014 saw major aviation disasters two of which are inexplicable. In all three tragedies there were no survivors.
In the latest mishap where the AirAsia Flight QZ8501, travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore vanished over the Java Sea, there are questions being raised on whether it is completely safe to fly in the Southeast Asian peninsular, even when the three mishaps can be attributed to sheer ill fate of the carriers.
However it has to be agreed that Air Asia authorities have shown greater responsibility towards the families of the missing passengers as opposed to Malaysia Airline authorities who did not interact with families of the passengers after the Flight MH 370 disappeared in March.
In recent times there has been a surge of low cost carriers in the region which has allowed the people to avail these flights at budgets suitable for their pockets. The airlines too have flourished and have grown rapidly. Standards of quality aviation have been largely compromised with. Indonesian carriers, air traffic controllers and the Indonesian airspace in general have maintained very weak regulation over a period of time.
Though AirAsia has always maintained solid safety records, the increase in low cost flights has resulted in the plane being flown by pilots with less experience in trying to handle difficult situations. The weather in this region is mostly troubled. The terrain is mountainous with tough paths. The pilots need skills to handle this difficult weather. When the AirAsia flight faced bad weather the pilot flew the plane to a height of 34,000 feet or higher to avoid bad weather. Low cost carriers often make their pilots and crew members overwork with hours of long duties. There are incidents when pilots of the low cost Lion Air were arrested for using crystal methamphetamine, a stimulant that can be used to stay awake and alert.
Tags: Malaysia aviation industry
|
||
   
|
||
