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Automation in the air dulls pilot skill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Safety and industry officials worry that there will be more deadly airline accidents traced to pilots who have lost their hands-on instincts as planes become ever more reliant on . . . (flightaware.com) 更多...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I posted this story first but it seems mine has been deleted. Hmmmmm.
I blogged about this very topic 2 years ago. There are pros and cons to automation in the cockpit. Read my thoughts here: http://aviation-digest.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-smarter-airplanes-making-dumber.html
Does she want to bring back hand-flown ADF approches to keep pilots sharp? Do you think (JOAN LOWY, Associated Press - appears to have no FAA airmen certicates) she brings a wealth of information to this subject?
I agree totally. It is a psychological issue, one cannot stay alert after hours of boredom typical of most airline flights. I don't think it is making pilots dumber by any means, but flying on autopilot for hours, then having to re-engage the brain for the last 10 minutes of the flight is difficult. On top of that, it is the most challenging and dangerous part of any flight.
It's called the "head down syndrome" where the flight crew is trying to reprogram the computers instead of watching the instruments - the basic flight instruments - give me an old military pilot every time - don't like these youngsters in the left seat who haven't had "upset" training and forget to fly the airplane -- look at Sully's success landing in the Hudson River - he looked out the window, monitored basic flight instruments, and flew the airplane - it was an Airbus, too. Also, at altitude flight crew often having personal discussions... inattention -- been there...
I personally think it will get worse before it gets better. Every blog and comment string that has came out in the last few months has touched on this. The Automation is like anything new, it is pushed out as far as it can go until limits or problems are discovered and that is about where we are now. Being from the old school, I think it is nice to have some of the mundane tasks automated but the pilot needs to fly the plane rather than program a computer. I personally think it is ascenine to turn on the AP at 1000' but that's just me. Full glass is a nice feature across the panel but some steam for the basic instruments wouldn't hurt a thing. Our reliance should be in our own ability, not that of a system. As I said, a system should be there to assist us, not replace us.
You can see this kind of thing happening in the car industry as well. One technology that stands out there, is the self-park system. I am sure that the engineers and car manufacturers think that this is great for marketing and think it is innovative - it is. Though, when people start to solely rely on the park-assist system to parallel park, they will lose their learned skill of parallel parking. What will happen when that system craps out? People won't be parking anymore or will at least have trouble doing it by themselves. With the airline industry, the same thing is occurring. They think that all this technology is great. It helps market the product and it helps sell the product. Airlines may say, "we have the most advanced aircraft", which will also attract people to fly with them. However, I think the pilot is forgotten in all of this. The man/woman who will be flying the plane, seems to be left out of the equation.