NTSB urges airlines to train their pilots to deal with smoke in the cockpit

By JOSH FUNK

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 strike.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilots who safely landed that plane back in New Orleans told investigators that the situation they encountered was far more challenging than anything they had ever experienced in training.

“If such an event occurred at night or in instrument meteorological conditions, the consequences could be catastrophic,” the NTSB determined.

The Federal Aviation Administration receives reports of smoke in the cockpit almost daily, but the NTSB said the agency still doesn’t require airlines to conduct realistic smoke-in-cockpit simulations. Instead the training usually just consists of a discussion of what to do in that situation. The FAA didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to the new recommendation.

The Southwest pilots at the controls during this incident in December 2023 said they had trouble seeing their instruments and checklists. They quickly donned oxygen masks and followed emergency procedures to land. None of the 139 people aboard were hurt.

Southwest and the Airlines for America trade group didn’t immediately respond to the new report.

Last year, the NTSB urged Boeing and engine maker CFM to quickly develop a software fix for the engines on the 737 Max to help prevent smoke from filling the cockpit or cabin after a safety feature is activated following a bird strike.

The plane and engine makers didn’t immediately provide an update Wednesday on the fix.