Was an overworked flight crew behind the Flydubai crash?
Saturday's fatal Flydubai airplane crash that killed all on board may have partially resulted from the airline鈥檚 overworking of its employees, a former Flydubai captain told a Russian state-owned news outlet.
The crash, which killed Flydubai Flight 981鈥檚 55 passengers and seven crew members, is聽, Russia鈥檚 aviation authority.
The crash occurred in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the destination of the flight from Dubai. Amid high winds, the crew of the Boeing 737-800 attempted a landing at the Rostov-on-Don airport after several hours of holding above the runway. The crash may have been caused by a phenomenon known as wind shear, with聽rapidly changing wind currents that forced the plane into a rapid dive.
鈥淏y all appearances, the cause of the air crash was the ,鈥� said Rostov's Gov. Vasily Golubev, according to The Associated Press. Located about 650 miles south of Moscow,聽Rostov-on-Don is the central city of the province of Rostov, in Russia鈥檚 Southern Federal District.
The IAC reported that the flight recorders from the plane were badly damaged, but those involved in the inquiry say they still hope that it will be possible to extract data.
鈥淢emory has already been retrieved from the black boxes. ,鈥� an IAC representative told Reuters. 鈥淭he decoding of the two black boxes may take between several weeks and several months.鈥�
While bad weather is the official cause of the crash, officials hope the black boxes could shed more light on why the aircraft's crew attempted to land in the inclement conditions and if the jet malfunctioned in any way before the crash.
In addition, a former Flydubai employee says that the airline鈥檚 employee scheduling policy may have been a contributing factor in the plane going down.
鈥� from day flight to night flight, and then back to a day flight, and then back to a night flight, and it has definitely been a big issue for a long time,鈥� the former Flydubai pilot told RT,聽a news outlet funded by聽Russia's government. 鈥淭hey do not allow pilots to get the right amount of rest, or the proper rest before a flight, and that is exactly what both of these pilots were, the situation that they were in, for sure.鈥�
A flight log obtained by the source, detailing Flight 981 co-pilot Alejandro Cruz Alava鈥檚 schedule, showed that he had worked 10 out of 11 days leading up to the crash with several back-to-back flights. Additionally, pilot Aristos Socratous had before the incident, while citing 鈥渘o complaints or problems鈥� with the airline.
The RT article said that reports of Flydubai pilots falling asleep are common, and that the airline shames pilots who complained of tiredness or overwork.
鈥淸T]he way that an airline like Flydubai rosters their pilots, it鈥檚 not safe. It鈥檚 not safe at all,鈥� the RT source said.
While Flydubai鈥檚 treatment of employee fatigue is unconfirmed, the RT report raises more questions about airline pilots in the wake of crashes such as this or the 2015 Germanwings crash. The mental stability of that flight鈥檚 pilot is聽considered a major cause聽of聽that disaster.
Flydubai's CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith聽asked for patience while the investigation continues.
鈥淲e share the desire to get answers as quickly as possible but at this stage ,鈥� he said in a company statement.聽鈥淲e would ask that the investigating authorities are given the time and space they need to report definitively on the causes of the accident.鈥�
An investigation into the Germanwings incident led to official recommendations that pilots鈥� mental health be more closely monitored while flying. Further results from the IAC and its partners in the probe could yield similar guidance regarding pilot treatment and scheduling.
