It's interesting that I just wrote a post about pilot discipline. Maybe you've heard about the US Airways Express CRJ-200 that suffered a runway excursion following a rejected takeoff at Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV. Preliminary investigation data indicates the accident was likely caused by, you guessed it, crew error and lack of discipline.
Luckily, there were no injuries. The CRJ overran runway 23 at Charleston and was effectively arrested by the EMAS pad at the departure end of the runway. EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting System) pads are constructed of crushable concrete blocks that are designed to collapse under the weight of an aircraft and absorb kinetic energy in the event of a runway overrun. Chalk up another victory here for EMAS because it performed its function perfectly.
I'll be interested to read the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript from the accident, but it sounds like the crew violated sterile cockpit rules (big surprise, right?) during taxi, became distracted by non-pertinent conversation, and improperly configured flaps for takeoff. I'm not sure if they didn't extend flaps at all, but I'd bet that was the case. The crew began the takeoff roll and rejected the takeoff after a takeoff configuration warning activated, then overran the runway into the EMAS. I read one news report that said the crew began to rotate the airplane before the reject was initiated, but that sounds fishy to me. Either way, it seems the aircraft had entered the high speed regime of the takeoff, and I'm wondering how the takeoff progressed to such an advanced stage before the crew abandoned it. I also read a news report that suggested the crew attempted to extend flaps during the takeoff roll, but news reports are quite often flagrantly incorrect. If that did happen, though, it definitely suggests that these pilots should never fly passengers again.
As is typical, this accident likely resulted from a chain of mistakes that led to an unsuccessful outcome. The crew violated sterile cockpit procedures during taxi, failed to configure the aircraft for takeoff, then likely mis-handled the attempted takeoff and subsequent reject. Professionalism at its finest! Not. Thank God there were no injuries, but this accident certainly doesn't contribute much to the case for regional airline safety or professionalism.
Sterile cockpit procedures are used to prevent accidents just like this one. Violate these procedures, and you see what can happen. For pilots of all aircraft, cease chatter, focus on the task at hand, and save the conversation for dinner (or at least cruise!).
