Safety experts recommended Wednesday that airlines develop realistic training to prepare their pilots to deal with smoke filling the cockpit like what happened on a Southwest Airlines plane after a bird struck it.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilots who landed the plane safely in New Orleans told investigators that the situation they faced was far more difficult than anything they had experienced in training.
“If such an event occurred at night or under meteorological conditions, the consequences could be catastrophic,” the NTSB determined.
The FAA receives reports of cockpit smoke almost daily, but the NTSB said the agency still does not require airlines to conduct realistic cockpit smoke simulations. Instead, training usually consists of discussing what to do in the situation. The FAA did not immediately respond Wednesday to the new recommendation.
Southwest pilots at control points during this incident in December 2023 said they had difficulty seeing their instruments and checklists. They quickly donned oxygen masks and followed emergency procedures to land. None of the 139 people on board were harmed.
Trade groups Southwest and Airlines for America did not immediately respond to the new report.
last year, NTSB urged Boeing and engine manufacturer CFM are developing a quick software fix for the engines in the 737 MAX to help prevent smoke from filling the cockpit or cabin after a bird strike safety feature is activated.
The plane and engine makers did not immediately provide an update Wednesday on the fix.