Has automation led to pilot complacency?
May 20, 2010, 06:30 pm
A recent report from the New York Times notes that members of the air industry are examining if whether furthering automation in flying has led to pilot complacency, thereby increasing error.
Robert Sumwalt, a veteran pilot who is a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the paper that people may not be the best overseers of systems that are extremely automated, especially over longer lengths of time.
"We want to acknowledge that you can't expect someone to be extremely vigilant for five or seven or three hours," Sumwalt told the Times.
The NTSB is holding a safety summit through May 20 that includes the topic on its agenda. The conference aims at finding ways to make sure pilots and air traffic controllers maintain high levels of performance while taking part in their duties.
Recently, a Northwest Airlines flight overshot its destination because itspilots were distracted by their laptops, one of a number of instances where pilots' lack of attention has led to errors in the air.
Pilot distraction has been the subject of past NTSB conferences, as have studies in the effects of fatigue on professional fliers.
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