Loss of control is the leading cause of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires each U.S. airline to develop a training program for pilots based on its specific operations and aircraft. Required simulator training covers maneuvers and events for which valid data are available and can be programmed into a simulator, such as engine failures during takeoffs and landings, and flap and slat anomalies. Selected event training is voluntary.

In the past, the NTSB has recommended that the FAA require pilots be trained and show proficiency in recovering from unusual attitudes using a flight simulator. Transport category airplanes such as those used by U.S. airlines are not designed to withstand forces that might be encountered in recovery from unusual attitudes, so flight training in recovery from unusual attitudes using such airplanes is unsafe.

To date, training in flight simulators has been constrained by their limited range of motion and a lack of data that would accurately support simulation of entry and recovery from unusual attitudes. However, the FAA and most aviation industry experts believe that a simulator may be used effectively for knowledge-based training in procedures -- and possible for flight training -- as long as trainers understand and respect a simulator's limitations.

The FAA has provided its inspectors with guidance on how to approve selected event training for airlines. A copy of a Flight Standards Handbook Bulletin for Air Transportation on selected event training (HBAT 95-10) is available at www.faa.gov/avr/afs/hbat/hbatl.htm.

Selected Event Training
Selected event training is a broad term that includes awareness, prevention, containment AND recovery from unusual attitudes (also known as upset). An airplane upset is when an airplane in flight unintentionally exceeds the parameters normally experienced in line operations or training:
· Pitch attitude greater than 25 degrees, nose up.
· Pitch attitude greater than 10 degrees, nose down.
· Bank angle greater than 45 degrees.
· Within the above parameters, but flying at airspeeds too fast or too slow for the condition.

Selected Event Training is voluntary flight training in hazardous in-flight situations that are not specifically identified in FAA regulations or directives. Examples include: false stall warning (stick shaker) at rotation, full stalls, excessive roll attitudes (in excess of 90 degrees), high pitch attitudes (in excess of 35 degrees), engine failure at low altitude and airspeed, after takeoff or during go-around, engine-out minimum control speed on autopilot, and engine-out to a missed ILS approach with the autopilot engaged throughout. Because of the range of operations and equipment used throughout the industry, situations and countermeasures may vary from operator to operator.

Rulemaking
The FAA is currently developing a proposed rule that would extensively revise training requirements for air carrier pilots to explicitly require ground training in awareness, prevention, containment and recovery from loss of control. The proposed rule would permit flight training in simulators provided that limitations of each simulator used are clearly understood and always observed. The agency expects to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for public comment within a year.

Training Aids
Upset Recovery
In 1998, the industry and FAA published the Airplane Upset Recovery Training Aid, available at www.faa.gov/avr/afs/afs200/afs210/1stupset.pdf. The goal of the training aid is to increase the pilot's ability to recognize and avoid situations that can lead to airplane upset and improve the pilot's ability to recover control of an airplane that has exceeded the normal flight regime. This goal may be accomplished by increasing awareness of potential upset situations and knowledge of flight dynamics, and by applying this knowledge to simulator training scenarios. The training aid consists of an overview for airline management, pilot guide to upset recovery, an example of an upset recovery training program, references for additional information, and a video.

The training aid was revised during August 2004 to address characteristics, limitations, and procedures involving components of transport category airplanes such as rudder, vertical stabilizer and others.

Wake Turbulence
All airplanes cause wake turbulence during flight. Wake Turbulence is particularly dangerous when a lighter airplane is following a heavier one. The phenomenon that creates wake turbulence results from the forces that lift the airplane. High-pressure air from the lower surface of the wings flows around the wingtips to the lower pressure region above the wings. A pair of counter-rotating vortices result: the right wing vortex rotates counterclockwise, and the left wing vortex rotates clockwise as seen from behind.. The region of rotating air behind the airplane is where wake turbulence occurs. In 1995, the aviation industry and FAA published the Wake Turbulence Training Aid to enhance training for both pilots and air traffic controllers. It is available through the National Technical Information Service, 703-487-4650.

Research
As part of its Safer Skies program, the FAA is a principal partner in the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). CAST has developed a data driven strategy to reduce the U.S. commercial aviation fatal accident rate by 80 percent by 2007. CAST is focused on safety measures with the highest safety payoff against the leading categories of accidents, including loss of control. One of the safety enhancements generated by the CAST process is research currently being conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center. Researchers are using a wind tunnel and model aircraft to capture data on aircraft performance outside the normal flight envelope. The goal is to obtain improved data that may be used in existing simulators.