JEDDAH — The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) last week organized a regional workshop to avoid disturbance of aircraft's path, or a complete loss of control. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) participated in the workshop. The GACA workshop, represented by Aviation Standards Sector, was on ways to train pilots to avoid disturbance of aircraft's path, or loss of control that may occur during the flight, which is known in aviation terms as Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT). The four-day workshop that culminated at GACA offices in Jeddah on Feb. 6 was also held at the Prince Sultan Academy of Aviation Sciences. It was attended by a group of specialists affiliated with international civil aviation authorities, airlines representatives and local and regional air training centers. GACA's goal of the aforementioned workshop is to shed light on the main factors that lead to avoiding disturbances, including (mismanaging correct aviation decisions, failure to implement corrective measures, exceeding the optimum speed of the plane, failure to follow procedures, ineptness, and the usage of prohibited materials). The workshop consisted of theoretical and practical training to teach pilots how to maintain and control their aircraft. This type of training focuses on avoiding potentially dangerous situations during flight, where air crews require sound knowledge and commitment to correct operational procedures and effective control. And since it is not possible to avoid all situations and turmoil, training to avoid plane path disturbances, or loss of control is necessary and is an important part of initial and refreshed training methods in both ground training and simulator training. The term "UPRT" is a mixture of theoretical knowledge and practical training that aims to provide the flight crew with the required competencies to prevent planes of accidentally deviating from its route during flights, or during practical training. This disturbance is a dangerous condition during flights, which may be placing the plane outside the normal boundaries of its path that may cause loss of control and sometimes the total loss of the airplane. The reasons for this are the excessive weight of the plane, or because of bad weather conditions or the loss of the pilot's self-balance, or malfunction in one of the plane's devices. Furthermore, the attendees praised the usefulness of the workshop organized by GACA and its importance to raise the safety and security level of the most important means of transportation in the world, namely, air travel. GACA obliges all commercial airliners operating in the Kingdom to train their pilots to take this type of training so that the company can operate in line with the international civil aviation standards and applicable laws in force.
