Airbus 318/319/320/321 Undifferentiated
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Training / Qualification; Situational Awareness; Distraction; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Procedure; Airport
I am submitting this report to express my concern regarding the lack of training/awareness of captains flying the Airbus to/from Bogotá with regards to mountainous terrain in Latin American. On several occasions; with different captains; I've had to gently correct the captains intention to maneuver the aircraft in an unsafe manner over mountainous terrain in night time conditions. These are some of my observations: 1. Shortly after takeoff from Bogotá on the Departure SID; the Captain requested to go direct to a down line waypoint bypassing the departure SID. This is a high altitude airport; surrounded by high terrain; at night and leaving the SID to save time is not a good practice.2. On arrival; captains are blindly following ATC instructions off airways or requesting points off airways and descending to the cleared lower altitude with no regards to the Grid MORA's. In the USA; cleared altitude guarantee terrain clearance; not so in Latin America; it is up to the captain to insure his own terrain clearance and plan his descent accordingly. 3. On arrival to MMLO during the VOR DME 2 Runway 13 approach; Captains are aligning the aircraft with the runway on final approach. This is an offset approach and there are hills to the left side of the course all the way to short final. By not staying on the VOR course they are not assured terrain clearance.4. On arrival into Bogotá; captains are leaving the airways and descending without looking at the Grid MORA's to insure terrain clearance. Again; blindly accepting ATC instructions and believing they will assure terrain clearance for them. These are only a few observations that I can remember at this time that are cause for concern. It seems that several of the captains are coming over from other aircraft and have been flying for a long time in the relative safety of the USA system. They cite the LACK of international training; mountainous terrain training; and some; are flying in these environments for the very first time with little knowledge of the challenges of operating in these environments. I'm expressing my concerns because I believe that given the right conditions a CFIT event may occur. I am very surprised at the level of complacency and lack of knowledge or concern for flying into/out of these challenging environments.
An Airbus First Officer comments that flight crews at his air carrier; who have flown domestic trips only; are now transitioning to the Airbus and flying into very mountainous Latin American airports unaware of lax ATC procedures and potential CFIT situations.