Why planes flying themselves has a downside
As Pilots Spend More Time Learning Automated Systems, They May Become Less Comfortable With Manual Control
Jack Nicas and Zach Wichter
15.03.2019
In nearly 100 million flights by United States airlines over the past decade, there has been a single fatality. Other than most landings and takeoffs, the planes have largely been flying themselves.
But the recent crashes of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia have raised questions about the downside of all that automation.
Pilots now spend more time learning these automated systems than practicing hands-on flying, so newer pilots are less comfortable with taking manual control when the computer steers them wrong, according to interviews with a dozen pilots and pilot instructors.
“The automation in the aircraft, whether it’s a Boeing or an Airbus, has lulled us into a sense of security and safety,” said Kevin Hiatt, a former Delta Air Lines pilot. Pilots now rely on autopilot so often, “they become a systems operator rather than a stick-and-rudder pilot.”
While automation has contributed to the airline industry’s stellar safety record in recent years, it has also been a factor in many of the crashes that have still occurred around the world. A 2011 study by a federal task force found that in about 60% of 46 recent accidents, pilots had trouble manually flying the plane or handling the automated controls. Complicated automation systems can also confuse pilots and potentially cause them to take action they shouldn’t, pilots said.
President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, posting on Twitter that airplanes have become too technologically complex and that he wants “great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!”
Overdependence on automation has been an issue for decades. A 1997 American Airlines pilot-training video warned that the problem was well known among pilots. In 2013, a federal task force concluded in a report that pilots relied too often on automation and should be required to improve their manual flying skills.
The issue has become more acute in recent years as aircraft have become more automated and a global pilot shortage has forced carriers to fill
Source: Agencies, Photo: AP
their cockpits with less experienced pilots. At the same time, the stream of military aviators that the big carriers have long relied on is dwindling.
Kit Darby, a former United Airlines captain and Boeing flight instructor who now trains pilots at another large carrier, said training for passenger pilots remained exhaustive and still focused on manual skills, including 1,500 hours of flight time and nearly 30 days in simulators. The bigger problem, he said, is the degradation of those skills once pilots get into the cockpit of an advanced passenger jet and begin to rely on autopilot. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Training for pilots still focused on manual skills, but the problem is the degradation of those skills once they get into the cockpit, say experts
As Pilots Spend More Time Learning Automated Systems, They May Become Less Comfortable With Manual Control
Jack Nicas and Zach Wichter
15.03.2019
In nearly 100 million flights by United States airlines over the past decade, there has been a single fatality. Other than most landings and takeoffs, the planes have largely been flying themselves.
But the recent crashes of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia have raised questions about the downside of all that automation.
Pilots now spend more time learning these automated systems than practicing hands-on flying, so newer pilots are less comfortable with taking manual control when the computer steers them wrong, according to interviews with a dozen pilots and pilot instructors.
“The automation in the aircraft, whether it’s a Boeing or an Airbus, has lulled us into a sense of security and safety,” said Kevin Hiatt, a former Delta Air Lines pilot. Pilots now rely on autopilot so often, “they become a systems operator rather than a stick-and-rudder pilot.”
While automation has contributed to the airline industry’s stellar safety record in recent years, it has also been a factor in many of the crashes that have still occurred around the world. A 2011 study by a federal task force found that in about 60% of 46 recent accidents, pilots had trouble manually flying the plane or handling the automated controls. Complicated automation systems can also confuse pilots and potentially cause them to take action they shouldn’t, pilots said.
President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, posting on Twitter that airplanes have become too technologically complex and that he wants “great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!”
Overdependence on automation has been an issue for decades. A 1997 American Airlines pilot-training video warned that the problem was well known among pilots. In 2013, a federal task force concluded in a report that pilots relied too often on automation and should be required to improve their manual flying skills.
The issue has become more acute in recent years as aircraft have become more automated and a global pilot shortage has forced carriers to fill
Source: Agencies, Photo: AP
their cockpits with less experienced pilots. At the same time, the stream of military aviators that the big carriers have long relied on is dwindling.
Kit Darby, a former United Airlines captain and Boeing flight instructor who now trains pilots at another large carrier, said training for passenger pilots remained exhaustive and still focused on manual skills, including 1,500 hours of flight time and nearly 30 days in simulators. The bigger problem, he said, is the degradation of those skills once pilots get into the cockpit of an advanced passenger jet and begin to rely on autopilot. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Training for pilots still focused on manual skills, but the problem is the degradation of those skills once they get into the cockpit, say experts
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