Page 21 - AAPT March 2019
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Feature Story
of human action, primarily to minimize their own pilot in such an emergency safety issues related to aviation and
error, but it is this same variability — situation. automation is becoming so advanced
in the form of timely adjustments to that the idea of completely designing
unexpected events — that maintains Perfecting human- the pilot out of commercial cockpits
safety in a dynamic and changing world automation is fueling market feasibility research.
(Reason, 2000). When applied to the co-ordination on Yet even unmanned flight is plagued
automation of aviation we can see the flight deck with human-automation co-ordination
that in many cases the aircraft system issues, a report on aviation accidents
designers have fallen, to at least some To perfect human-automation among UAVs of the US military found
degree, into this paradoxical trap. coordination requires a willingness that up to 47 per cent of accidents per
Airbus’ automation design philosophy from aircraft system designers to airframe where human factors related
in particular demonstrates this, with commit significant research into the (Williams, 2004).
its automated policing of any flight way in which their pilots interact with The answer lies in designing the
manoeuvre outside of the safe flight the automation of their aircraft. system around the human, rather than
envelope. Thus, showing a greater Modern aircraft have come a long inserting the human into an ill-fitted
willingness to trust the autopilot over way in addressing the majority of the system as has been done in the past.
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