Page 39 - InterPilot 2020 Issue 1

IFALPA.ORG PAGE 39

So, initially, there was one level of safety achieved because even though cargo pilots
carried more DG that was more hazardous in nature, they had greater options in dealing
with in-flight emergencies.

Today, that is no longer the case. Cargo goes in the belly of both passenger and cargo
aircraft. Cargo carried in the main deck of a freighter today is not often accessible to the
crew anyway, and even when it is, it is unlikely that a crew member will be free to enter
the cargo compartment to fight a fire. So, today what has evolved is that cargo pilots
actually carry more hazardous types and quantities of cargo without additional means of
risk mitigation.

What types of cargo does that include? On a passenger flight you can have certain types
of flammable materials for example, but they’re not as flammable and they’re shipped in
smaller quantities than on a cargo flight. On a cargo flight we have things that can burn
easier and with more intensity and we can carry more of it than we can on a passenger
flight.

On a passenger flight you cannot carry lithium batteries, for example, that are not
installed in or packed with equipment as cargo. On a cargo flight, you can have an
airplane full of lithium batteries that are packaged with nothing else in the box. The
explanation today is that many of the regulators just accept the fact that cargo flights will
be operated in a more hazardous environment.