The Boeing 777

 A freelance contract pilot and safety management system auditor/consultant with AvJet Solutions, Tilak S. Ramaprakash has a history as a commercial pilot in Mumbi with Jet Airways and Air India. With both of these organizations, Tilak Ramaprakash captained Boeing 777 aircrafts.

With a history that dates back to the early 1990s, various Boeing 777 aircrafts have made a number of contributions to the field of aviation, including records for the longest airliner to take to the air and the longest flight by a passenger jet. Today’s X-9 model of the Boeing 777 remains the longest twinjet aircraft in the world with a fuselage that stretches roughly 84 yards. Under normal conditions, this aircraft can carry 426 passengers in a two-class configuration for nearly 7,300 nautical miles. Boeing also touts the exceptional fuel efficiency and passenger comfort of the various aircrafts in the B-777 line. As a testament to its dedication to passenger-preferred comfort, the Boeing 777 has received multiple awards for aircraft interior from Executive Travel Magazine.

Harmonious and Hierarchal Japanese Leadership Style

 

A longtime aviation professional, Tilak S. Ramaprakash manages operations such as auditing and accounting. With an extensive academic background that includes an MS earned at Purdue University, Tilak Ramaprakash authored a paper reviewing a study on commonalities and differences in leadership across Western and Asian countries.

In looking at Japan, he describes a rigid and hierarchical society, with companies taking a paternalistic attitude toward workers. The positive side of this restrictive system is that Japanese managers are oriented toward taking a caring, helpful attitude with employees. This is reinforced by a sempai-kohai mentoring relationship, in which older team members are expected to help new arrivals gain their feet in the company and thrive.

Interestingly, despite the inflexible structure, Japanese companies feature a group dynamic in which harmonious equality is valued above power struggles and direct criticism. This internal harmony often holds importance above simply making money or being more productive and helps explain why Japanese companies have proven so challenging to take over by outsiders.

Another important aspect of the equation is that the march to seniority and higher salary is long-term in Japan, with greater responsibilities and rank added only gradually. The salary differences between various group members are not so wide, as the emphasis is on the well-being of the collective.

Open Skies Agreements with the European Union

 

Tilak S. Ramaprakash is an aviation professional who has piloted and provided strategic advice on aviation operation management. Extensively researched in his field, Tilak Ramaprakash is the author of “Open Skies Agreements with the European Union.” In the paper, he looks at agreements that enable partner countries to minimize government intervention in using EU airspace and facilities while providing maximum access.

Such agreements pose serious trade law issues, with critics arguing that the EU often provides more, through unlimited access, than reciprocating countries do, with their “comparatively limited markets.” Despite this, EU Open Skies agreements have been integral in achieving commercial aims, including boosting traffic flow, increasing global economic activity, and controlling airfares.

One major issue that needs to be resolved is the Open Skies agreement with the US, which provides US carriers with free access to the EU while not achieving a fair level of reciprocating access. The author suggests that the US-Canada Open Skies agreement could be a viable model moving forward in negotiating a new agreement that would be more equitable.

How Threat and Error Management Functions on the Runway

 Active with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, Tilak S. Ramaprakash has a background as a contract pilot and aviation auditor. As a member of Purdue University’s Aviation Technology Department, Tilak Ramaprakash authored the paper “Threat and Error Management (TEM) and Runway Excursions.”

A human performance-related safety concept, TEM originated in the procedures followed on airline flight decks. It is now used more broadly in discussing a variety of dynamic operating environments across the aviation realm.

At its foundation, TEM involves maximizing safety margins through anticipation, recognition, and recovery. The anticipation aspect consists of the flight crew staying vigilant and avoiding a sense of complacency. Recognition involves identifying unusual patterns the moment they occur, which is essential to mitigating an error or threat. Finally, recovery requires regaining an acceptable state of safety given a situation where the aircraft is in trouble. It represents a final opportunity to avoid an undesired outcome, such as a crash landing.

The factors involved in such situations on the runway are manifold and include bad weather, airport birds, terrain, ground crews, and air traffic control. In addition, many issues involving personnel can contribute, from experience level to excessive workload and resulting fatigue and stress. Maintaining a TEM protocol can help ensure that factors leading to unwanted incidents are proactively identified and prevented.