Lesson From An Aviation Tragedy At Poly CourseWHEN one door shuts, another opens. That might be a lesson Mr Latiff Cyrano could draw from the way life has turned out.
He was one of three pilots in the cockpit of SQ 006, the Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 jet that crashed in Taiwan on Oct 31, 2000, during take-off. The accident left 83 people dead.
Two years later, Singapore investigators concluded that the pilots had not contravened any regulation or operational procedures.
But Mr Cyrano's commercial flying days were over. He left SIA in 2002, ventured into the training, hospitality and services industry, and did a stint with Germany's Lufthansa Systems - an IT services provider for the aviation industry.
Flying remained his passion and he did consider going back to it, but - as he put it without wishing to elaborate - the opportunity did not come up.
Then, last year, a door opened.
Temasek Polytechnic had just launched an aviation diploma programme and wanted him to teach aircraft systems and flying, as well as the human factors associated with commercial flying.
He said yes, joined about three months ago and is now part of a seven-member team nurturing
the next generation of airport managers and staff. The rest are all ex-Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) employees.
The poly's diploma in aviation management and services, launched in April last year with 79 students, is a three-year course to prepare graduates for a career in aviation which includes airport management and operations, air traffic control services and aviation security.
Students also get a chance to co-fly - both in the air and in a Boeing 737 simulator.
This year, 95 students have enrolled, said department head Paul Yap, 37, who left CAAS about two years ago. He was formerly its head of aviation security.
On average, the aviation diploma programme is about three times oversubscribed, making it one of the poly's more popular courses.
What makes it attractive is the quality of teaching staff and the interesting modules offered, Mr Yap believes.
Apart from himself and Mr Cyrano, 43, lecturers Tommy Yuen, 55, and Gary Ho, 34, are ex-air traffic controllers.
The team also includes aviation security and operations expert Abbas Ismail, 42, Mr Sumarni Sarmin, 49, who was involved in the construction of Changi Airport's Terminal 2, and Mr Lee Wee Li, 44, whose background is in airport and airline management.
Mr Yap said: 'I do not think there is any other aviation diploma or degree programme in Singapore today that offers the range of expertise and skills that we have.'
Except for Mr Yuen, who is not a graduate but spent 35 years as an air traffic controller, the rest have either a bachelor's or master's degree.
Like many other polytechnics, Temasek values industry experience and does not require lecturers to have a teaching certificate, although they are provided teacher training.
As for the course modules, the focus is not just classroom teaching, Mr Yap said.
While Changi Airport's Terminal 3 was being built, for example, students visited to understand what it takes to start operations.
It was part of preparing students for the real thing.
'It is for the same reason that we give our students first-hand flying experience,' said Mr Yap.
'Aviation is about airplanes and you really cannot be an aviator if you have no clue about what the cockpit of an aircraft looks like, for example.'
Mr Yuen said: 'The learning curve can be very steep in this business so if we can impart some of our real on-the-ground knowledge and experience to our students, we hope it would help them cope better when they actually enter the industry.'
The team has bold ambitions.
It plans to build its own two-seater light propeller plane next year, and tie up with a foreign university to offer students the option of pursuing a degree programme.
Mr Yap said: 'We also hope to provide students who have the interest and aptitude with avenues to move on to more specialised areas of study, for instance air traffic control certification and a career in commercial flying.'
In a tie-up with the Singapore Youth Flying Club, up to 15 places are set aside every year for Temasek Poly's aviation students.
Ms Vanessa Leong, 18, from the first batch of students, said: 'The great thing about this programme is the quality of the lecturers. When they teach, they use real examples and experiences so we know it is not just stuff out of a textbook.'
Mr Cyrano, who starts teaching later this month, expects that he will have to talk about SQ 006.
It will not be the first time, said the father of four children aged between five and 17. He has spoken about what he went through several times since 2005 at schools and public forums here and in the United States.
'It is why I am here, to plough back to my students the experiences I have lived through and the lessons I have learnt,' he said.
'It goes beyond just aviation. A lot of it has to do with mental and emotional resilience, crisis management and safety procedures as well.'
He expects that his students will probe him on the tragedy and the nightmare that followed.
'People often ask me how I coped with the post-crash issues,' he said. 'My answer: My faith and my family, especially my wife, were my sources of strength.
'Do I still remember the crash? I am remembering it right now while I am talking to you. But it was an accident. Life goes on.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Apr 8, 2008.
