2 days ago
Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, said pilots pressured to perform unsafe landings in India, raised concerns about safety protocols
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who is best known as Flying Beast on social media, weighed in on the Air India aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 shortly after taking off. Gaurav often makes videos about air accidents, and offers his analysis. He served as a commercial pilot for a decade, and was a captain at Air Asia when he got involved in a whistleblower scandal. He accused the airline of pressuring its pilots to perform unreasonably dangerous landings, and penalised them for taking rest days. He illustrated his complaints in a 2020 video, which currently has over 10 million views on YouTube.
In the video, he had explained that an aircraft has two recommended landing configurations, and that one of them is more fuel efficient. Air Asia, he said, instructed its pilots to complete at least 98% of landings in the more fuel efficient configuration. He said that an aircraft's weight, tailwinds, and weather conditions can often dictate which configuration to use, and that pilots should be allowed to use their expertise and make these decisions. Certain airports in India, he said, aren't suited for the fuel efficient landing configuration.
He said in the video, 'When we land a plane, we have two configurations to choose from, Flap 3 and Flap Full. Both are safe, both are certified by Airbus. But they are used in different conditions. If Airbus only wanted Flap 3 landings, they wouldn't have made Flap Full. If they wanted Flap Full landings, they wouldn't have made Flap 3. In Flap 3 landings, you tend to save fuel. It's only 8 kgs per landing, but it adds up. Our company gives us a target of 98% Flap 3 landings. As a pilot, you want to keep extra safety margins in your pocket for various reasons, but the 98% target weighs on your mind.'
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He added, 'Even the regulator says that there are airports were Flap 3 landings can be dangerous. This is usually for smaller airports. In Flap Full landings, there is an extra margin, there is a safety advantage, but it eats up more fuel. For instance, it is not recommended to do a Flap 3 landing in Imphal, because the glide slope there is very steep.'
In a previous interview with fellow YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, Gaurav laid out his complaints and said that his job was on the line. He said, 'Flap 3 and Flap Full are both recommended landing configurations by the manufacturer, which is Airbus. But a pilot is required to evaluate conditions prior to a landing and make a decision about this. The company specifically wrote emails to us, saying that we must perform Flap 3 landings. I was told that 71% of my landings were Flap 3 in one month, which falls under non-compliance of SOPs. In aviation, everything runs on SOPs, and if a pilot deviates from them, he is liable to an enquiry. The company told me in writing that my bonuses could be deducted because of this non-compliance.' In its email to Gaurav, the airline had stressed that it was complying with industry norms. 'Our target KPI takes into account all scenarios and is on par with other AOCs in our group and other leading world airlines,' a line read.
After the June 12 tragedy, Gaurav took to X and wrote, 'Looks like a Dual Engine Failure after Take Off. Nothing short of a complete power loss can force a modern aircraft into that kind of sink rate, right after take off. Praying for everyone on board.' He had previously analysed the recent incident involving an Indigo aircraft that was damaged during severe weather conditions en route to Srinagar. The Air India crash resulted in the death of over 240 souls. One person survived. An investigation into the crash hasn't yet been concluded.
On June 13, Flying Beast tweeted that he was fired from his job after blowing the whistle on his previous employer. 'In May 2020 , I raised serious flight safety concerns against Air Asia. DGCA investigated, safety lapses found and suspended 2 top officials,' he wrote.
