Automation is everywhere in our lives, and becoming more and more prevelant in the cockpit. However is this a good thing or not? Some people would say no, others would say yes. I personally believe it is a catch 22 situation. Automation is a great thing however it does pose problems. Automation allows the pilot to make his or her work load smaller, allowing them to think, assess situations, and get ahead of the airplane if needed. Automation can cause problems if you dont understand it, or program it wrong. For example, if you were to input a 5 letter identifier incorrectly you will leave your intended or filed course, causing navigation problems if left unnoticed.
Automation can cause accidents. as seen here ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29194109/ns/us_news-life/t/official-plane-ny-crash-was-autopilot/ )
In the previous case automation as well as icing buildup caused an aircraft to crash outside Buffalo, NY. The pilots were flying in icing conditions with the automation of the airplane and de-ice equipment engaged. The pilots were changing the configuration of the aircraft with flaps for their approach into the airport. The pilots did not release that the automation was controlling te aircraft in strange ways, so when the automation was turned off, the pilots has no time to act, which caused the aircraft to crash. This is a situation where automation can cause fatalities, just because it was not fully understood by the the people handling it.
Personally automation has saved me. On my first long cross country after I got my pilots license. ATC deviated me to a head to a series of VORs. I was not an instrument pilot, so naturally I did not have the frequencies easily accesible, so I had to engage the autopilot and try to figure out my situation in the air. I got everything figured out in the end, disengaged the autopilot, and had a smooth landing at KGRR.
Automation, Friend of Foe? This will be an argument for many generations in not just the aviation industry.
I appreciate how you integrated your personal experience into the discussion. For future reference, please actually link your article to the page.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great example of where automation can reduce your work load and become a huge asset in the air. Being able to utilize automation properly can create a more manageable situation than without it. A problem with automation, especially with the Buffalo incident, will always be the human interpreting the information.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that automation is great. At the same time it seems that there are a lot of people that rely on it to much, and that is where the problem is. If used only to help and no as a crutch then automation is great.
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