Strength Requirement for Pilots

[TommyGun]

Pilots’ physical strength reportedly cited as concern in Boeing 737 MAX probe

"Efforts to unground Boeing’s 737 MAX jets have been delayed in part amid concerns about whether the average pilot possesses enough strength to turn a manual trim crank during emergencies, according to a new report."

Rip, I humbly suggest this is not simply a "you should be stronger" story. I want to be careful here, but the implication of the article could be that if the pilots were stronger and were able to exert sufficient force against an external object (the manual trim crank) then maybe, just maybe, hundreds of passengers may be alive today.

This is not to excuse Boeing for what they did and how they rolled our the Max, misleading airlines and the FAA.
But the strength component in the cockpit is unexpected because, well, you said it best in the preface to SS 3rd Edition. The importance of strength can be forgotten in today's age of division of labor. Occupations which at first blush do not require strength because of electronics, hydraulics, etc and other labor saving devices may actually demand an unspecified level of strength when said labor saving devices do not work and everything goes to hell.

You continually write eloquently about the need for strength. I won't attempt to. But man, this strength thing is such a scarce resource in today's technology dominated world. Please keep up the great work.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I saw this earlier. You make good points.

[Travis Reid]

Great article Tommy, and terrific points made in response. Thanks for sharing it.

[Frankie]

Pilots’ physical strength reportedly cited as concern in Boeing 737 MAX probe

"Efforts to unground Boeing’s 737 MAX jets have been delayed in part amid concerns about whether the average pilot possesses enough strength to turn a manual trim crank during emergencies, according to a new report."

Rip, I humbly suggest this is not simply a "you should be stronger" story. I want to be careful here, but the implication of the article could be that if the pilots were stronger and were able to exert sufficient force against an external object (the manual trim crank) then maybe, just maybe, hundreds of passengers may be alive today.

This is not to excuse Boeing for what they did and how they rolled our the Max, misleading airlines and the FAA.
But the strength component in the cockpit is unexpected because, well, you said it best in the preface to SS 3rd Edition. The importance of strength can be forgotten in today's age of division of labor. Occupations which at first blush do not require strength because of electronics, hydraulics, etc and other labor saving devices may actually demand an unspecified level of strength when said labor saving devices do not work and everything goes to hell.

You continually write eloquently about the need for strength. I won't attempt to. But man, this strength thing is such a scarce resource in today's technology dominated world. Please keep up the great work.

Mentour Pilot did a great job of a few months ago showing the physical stress it takes in a 737 simulator here (not a Max).

It's definitely an interesting discussion. Those trim cranks could be better engineered to provide more hand leverage, but then again a cockpit is already a cramped place.

I don't know if I have ever seen a pilot that looked to be over 180lb. While there are a number of reasons for this at 220lb whenever I have tried out a cockpit it was extremely uncomfortable, it just would not be an option for me.

You hear about fighter pilots training heavy to help with vasalva etc. but they still keep their body weight way low.

[jhoyda]

There have been accidents in which a pilot initiates a go-around with an airplane trimmed for the landing configuration and is not strong enough to counteract the resulting pitch up while re-trimming. The aircraft attempts to maintain trimmed airspeed, the nose pitches up, the wing stalls and a smoking hole results.

Heavy singles with large engines are especially susceptible if I remember correctly. Proper actions would be add: power to arrest the sink rate, re-trim, add full power, trim as necessary for desired climb speed.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Absolutely. As much as we like strength, this is an aircraft design problem, not a pilot strength problem.