MAKING EVERY FLIGHT A SAFE FLIGHT WINTER 2021 Power games Will planes ever be fuelled by hydrogen? Return of the MAX Lessons learnt from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 Looking after your mental health Winter of How to deal with stress in aviation discontent The plight of pilots and airline staff LIFT-OFF BALPA House 5 Heathrow Boulevard, 278 Bath Road, West Drayton, UB7 0DQ 020 8476 4000 www.balpa.org [email protected] Honorary President Lord Balfe Executive President Paul Naylor General Secretary Brian Strutton Communications & External Relations Richard Toomer Nancy Jackson Duty editors’ Chief Editor Simon Williams Deputy Chief Editor welcome Jeremy Feldman Editorial Board Tori Bottomley Mike Buckley Martin Chalk Mark Dobson The long-awaited series finale of 2020 is fast approaching and, with no clear Ian Frow conclusion in sight, will we be left satisfied with a heart-warming finish after this David Keen Katy Lee tumultuous rollercoaster ride, or will we be left on the largest, most daunting cliff Matthew Martin edge, eagerly awaiting the sequel in 2021? Karen Speight Jordan Webb Since our last edition, little has changed in the face of the global pandemic. If anything, the impact on the aviation industry has only been compounded, more Senior Contributor Robin Evans and more of our friends and colleagues face uncertainty and we trundle our way into the ever difficult off-season winter period. But change is afoot. As the industry is dragged backwards, we continue to look forwards. In this edition, we look at how hydrogen is being pioneered to fuel the Produced by aircraft of tomorrow, and how the long-awaited return of the Boeing 737 MAX has CPL (Cambridge Publishers Ltd) reshaped how we view pilot training and aircraft certification. 01223 378 000 The twists and turns of the COVID-19 crisis have undoubtedly taken their toll www.cpl.co.uk 1 Cambridge Technopark, Newmarket on our mental health. Louise Pode explores the industry’s relationship with this key Road, Cambridge CB5 8PB area, while David Keen takes a look at how second jobs have helped individuals Editorial navigate through the crisis. Tracey Lattimore Despite the challenges, we hope that by the time you read this a COVID vaccine Designer is being rolled out, clarity has been brought to UK-EU air transport rules, and James Baldwin attacks by both circumstances and airline managements on our profession Advertising manager and fellow professionals are over. Bye bye 2020 – let’s hope 2021 is John Wheaton 01223 378 042 significantly better. [email protected] Jordan Webb The acceptance and publication of advertising in The Log, including financial products and services, Martin Chalk implies no representation or warranty on the part of BALPA or their agents as to the reputation or standing of advertisers’ products or services. Although The Log is the official journal of BALPA, the views expressed by individuals in any article or letter included are not necessarily those of the association or those of CPL. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced without the express written permission of BALPA and CPL. 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Page 42: Credit / Bedford Aeronautical Heritage Group Page 43: Credit / US Air Force Page 45: iStock.com / Jetlinerimages Page 48: iStock.com / Targrid Page 50: iStock.com / PressureUA Page 52: iStock.com / Bim Page 58: iStock.com / Nadezhda Fedrunova 3 CONTENTS WINTER 2021 FEATURES 12 Navigating COVID-19 How airlines have tried to mitigate the effects of the pandemic 26 Safety first 50 The BALPA ‘Most Wanted’ flight safety improvements Stressed out Managing stress in REGULARS 30 the aviation sector Missed approaches 6 We take a look at missed News approach incidents 8 33 Letters Where there’s a skill The origins and impact of crew 11 resource management Know your rights 39 17 Sideways look Rocking chair Procrastination is not what it TECH LOG used to be 54 18 Gear 41 Hydrogen – fuel of Taking control the future? 56 The origins of the autoland Will aeroplanes ever be powered Obituary by hydrogen? 46 57 Through the keyhole 21 Book reviews A look inside the garage that’s Log notices actually an aircraft simulator 58 22 Tailwind 48 A better future Survival jobs We look at the lessons learned from What alternative jobs are suited the Boeing 737 MAX 8 disasters to pilots? 5 NEWS Upfront Malignant melanoma SOME GLIMMERS OF LIGHT The latest in aviation and industrial news from around the world Since the beginning of the COVID-19 a ‘prescribed disease’ outbreak, BALPA has called on the government to recognise the unique Malignant melanoma in aircrew is set to become a prescribed disease (industrial challenges the aviation industry faces Invasive keratinising injury) for which state pension benefits will be payable. There is a list of in the crisis. We have been the voice squamous cell carcinoma of the skin occupational diseases for which affected workers are eligible for pension payments, of pilots, lobbying the government subject to certain criteria , and the list is added to as medical knowledge grows . The and pushing for action – and many Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) investigates the relationship between the of our members have taken up disease and the occupation, and then makes a recommendation, or not, that the the mantle by supporting our ‘six disease be added to the list of prescribed diseases. demands’ campaign and writing to Executive The recommendation takes the form of a published Command Paper, which is their MPs to help build the pressure. President’s passed to the Secretary of State to initiate the amendment to the legislation that While there is a long way to go, we adds the new prescribed disease to the existing list. At this time of COVID-19, have seen glimmers of light in the welcome timescales are a little uncertain. However, it is highly likely that the amendment will latest government announcement When I signed off my last foreword for happen in due course. ending the ban on international The Log, I wrote that I hoped we might BALPA’s Rob Hunter, who is an aviation medicine and radiation specialist, gave leisure travel, introducing the option see glimpses of a better future. Well, evidence to the IIAC enquiry. The full Command Paper can be read at bit.ly/ of a shorter quarantine period and it appears we could be heading in the IIACCommandPaper1. Below is an extract of the letter, from the IIAC chair to the direct financial support for airports. right direction. It’s still very early days Secretary of State, that introduces the Command Paper: We are not lifting the foot from the but, as I write this, the first arms are pedal , however. BALPA continues “ Around 15,000 newly diagnosed cases (cancer registrations) of melanoma occur preparing to receive the COVID-19 to call for more to be done to each year in the UK (half in women), and approximately 2,500 deaths. In both give customers the confidence to vaccine. Let’s hope this portends a sexes the risk rises with age, but a little more so in men. The key triggers leading book holidays for next year, and change in consumer confidence and to malignant transformation of melanocytes (the pigment cells of the skin) have yet businesses the confidence that UK a willingness to begin travelling again. to be fully elucidated, but are multifactorial and include UV radiation damage and aviation can cope post-Brexit. This is another great edition of genetic susceptibility. BALPA has renewed its calls for the The Log, with features on the re- The investigation carried out by the Council established that the evidence base government to set a date for when certification of the 737 Max; our new for an increased risk of the incidence of melanoma in aircrew – both pilots and it aims to replace quarantining with flight safety strategy, ‘Most Wanted’; cabin crew – is consistent and convincing; the pattern of an excess risk has not airport testing, so that systems can and collaborative work with our substantially changed by date of publication over the last 30 years although the be put in place. We have also pushed colleagues at GATCO. exact magnitude varies between studies. for it to support the operational An in-depth analysis of the scientific literature of melanoma incidence As the year comes to a close, I want and skills infrastructure that will be conclusively demonstrated a consistent doubling of risk for both pilots and to pay tribute to the team who have needed for aviation to recover. cabin crew, and for pilots in particular, after 5,000 aggregated hours’ flying time. continued to put The Log together This corresponds to approximately five or more years aggregated duration in such difficult circumstances. I also of employment. SAFETY FIRST want to put on record my deep debt From currently available evidence, the Council concluded that neither cosmic For pilots, safety comes first , and of gratitude to the reps and staff who radiation nor occupational exposures to UV during flights are likely to contribute at this time of huge commercial have kept BALPA going and who substantially to the excess risk.