• 06
  • October
    2011

In 2009, Colgan Air Continental Flight 3407 was travelling the icy skies near Buffalo, New York, when something went wrong. The plane began rolling left to right, before it finally crashed belly-first into the top of a house. The crash killed all 49 people aboard the plane and one person on the ground. When the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated, the authorities learned that the commuter plane had been operating on autopilot just before it crashed.

As a result of the Colgan crash and other high profile airplane crashes, Congress placed a mandate on the Federal Aviation Administration to draft rules that would establish new pilot testing requirements, extend the rest and off-duty periods prior to duty, and set weekly and monthly limits on flight duty time. As part of its charge to reduce pilot error accidents, the FAA also analyzed the significance of automated systems on flight safety.

Just like cars with cruise control, modern aircraft are equipped with autopilot features, which are designed to control the airplane without human guidance. However, a recent FAA analysis, announced in late summer, revealed a concerning and dangerous safety trend. Examining 46 accidents and major incidents, 734 voluntary reports and over 9,000 flights, the federal aviation watchdog found that two-thirds of accidents - and 30 percent of major incidents - were linked to pilots' issues with manual flying and automated flight control mistakes.

The FAA refers to this problem as "automation addiction," or pilots' over-reliance on automated flight systems and autopilot in the basic handling of their planes. This reliance reduces response time for emergencies and mechanical failures, and compromises the pilot's actual manual flying skills and competency.

The study revealed that many contemporary pilots generally operate their planes manually during takeoff and landing. All other times, automated tools handle the flight. Some blame the over-reliance on autopilot as a direct consequence of aviator fatigue.

The FAA's findings come at a time when proposed regulations involving pilot rest rules remain unresolved. Although a final ruling was due in August, pressure from the airline industry has stalled the process.

Flying the skies leaves passengers' lives in the hands of circuits instead of humans, which can lead to aviation accidents. Unfortunately, the federal government has been stalled in its efforts to make the skies safer.