International push to slash flight crews from two pilots to one

Hero pilot Richard de Crespigny has led a chorus of criticism over international moves to reduce flight crews from two pilots to one.

Hero Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny thinks aviation safety would be compromised by a move to single pilot operations. Picture: John Feder

Hero pilot Richard de Crespigny has slammed an international push for airlines to reduce flight crews from two pilots to one, saying it would be disastrous for aviation safety.

More than 40 countries including Britain, France and Germany have asked the International Civil Aviation ­Organisation to help make ­single pilot operations a reality.

In a submission to ICAO, the countries said a forecast pilot shortage plus advances in automation made it prudent to develop a path towards pilots becoming “systems managers rather than physical flyers”.

The European Aviation Safety Agency was also on board, working with manufacturer Airbus to develop “extended minimum crew requirement” en­abled aircraft.

Australia’s regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, is keeping a watch on developments, saying it would likely be managed by ICAO as a “global initiative”.

Captain de Crespigny, who commanded flight QF32, which suffered a catastrophic engine explosion in 2010, said that incident would not have turned out so well without the teamwork of the five pilots on board.

“We made lots of very important decisions and I wouldn’t change any of them. This is not a credit to me, it’s a credit to the five pilots and the teamwork we had,” said Captain de Crespigny who was forced into retirement by Covid.

“If I’d not had those extra pilots supporting me, I don’t think we would’ve survived.

“If we decide to shred cockpit teams down to one, we better be prepared for the consequences.”

He said the reason aviation was the safest form of transport was because of the redundancies steadily built in over the past 119 years that made it resilient.

“Safety cannot be preserved when you take a critical asset such as the flight crew and reduce it to one person. There’s no redundancy or resilience in a single pilot,” he said.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots and Australian and International Pilots Association shared Captain de Crespigny’s concerns on any move to single pilot operations.

AFAP technical and safety manager Marcus Diamond said aircraft design and the systems around regular public transport flights were reliant on having two licensed pilots on the flight deck. “Even in my own career, I’ve had incidents where I believe if we didn’t have a second crew, we would’ve been in awful ­trouble,” he said.

Captain Diamond said there was not even a significant cost benefit in slashing crews. “Having two crew is integral to all parts of our training, both normal and abnormal, and the only time we stray from that is with incapacitation,” he said.

Australia’s major carriers, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex, were aware of the international push for single pilot operations but declined to comment.

A CASA spokeswoman said it had not developed a view but “emerging technologies in civil aviation are being closely monitored”.