As we’ve recently witnessed, airplanes do crash. Captain Price reveals the three most common causes of airplane catastrophes and the technology that’s keeping us safe.

The recent tragedy of Airbus A330-200 is a stark reminder that, despite phenomenal technological advances, we’re never completely shielded from accidents.

Any operation involving the interface between men and machines will always have a measure of unpredictability.

Firstly, I will analyze the most significant modern accident trends. Secondly, I will discuss the advances in the modern cockpit and the hardware / software developed to address problems of aircraft safety.

1. Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT)

Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is a fancy way of saying that the aircraft was mechanically sound but that something went wrong in the management of the flight, which resulted in an unintended ground impact.

Example Catastrophe

In the early morning hours of the 6th of August, 1997, Korean Air Flight #801, a Boeing 747, crashed into Nimitz Hill on approach into the international airport on the island of Guam.

228 of the 254 persons onboard died.  Whilst the aircraft was mechanically sound, the management and leadership practices of the captain and crew were not.  The major breakdowns in crew management and discipline therefore constituted the source of the problem.

Technological Solution

The growing concern for the improvement of CFIT led to the development of the Electronic Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). This amazing program constantly analyzes a number of flight parameters such as altitude, closure rate with the ground below/objects ahead, aircraft location in relation to known terrain, glide path, airspeed, etc.

Most importantly, EGPWS provides a significant and timely warning to pilots when closure with terrain is unsafe.  It has saved many a flight and has become a huge addition to the safety tool bag in every modern cockpit.

Plane Crash – Korean Air 801

2. Mid-air Collisions

One of the greatest fears among the traveling public is that of a mid-air collision.  Despite sophisticated radar control networks, this type of accident can doubtlessly occur.

Technological Solution

A system known as Threat Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has been extremely instrumental in addressing this problem.

TCAS sends out electronic signals indicating position, altitude, and rate of climb or descent which are received and monitored by the TCAS units on other aircraft.

These preset parameters form a “safety bubble” around each aircraft so that if the projected flight path of another aircraft shows that it will penetrate this safety bubble, TCAS alerts the pilots of both aircraft.

As a result, if evasive maneuvers are required, both aircraft are given specific visual and verbal directions to “climb” or “descend”, thereby insuring a coordinated avoidance maneuver. TCAS is a life-saver, especially in congested airport traffic areas.

Mid-Air Collision DHL 757 and Tu-154

3. Runway Incursions

One of the most hazardous points in any flight occurs while taxiing to or from the active runway. In fact, runway incursions represent the first causal factor in commercial airline accidents. Often, darkness, obstructions to visibility such as fog or rain, and unfamiliarity contribute to pilot confusion.

Example Catastrophe

Consider just one of the more recent instances of a runway incursion that led to disaster.  Comair Flight #191 departed Lexington, Kentucky in the early morning hours of the 27th of August, 2006.

It was cleared to taxi to runway 22 but mistakenly taxied onto and took off from runway 26, which was much shorter.  The aircraft never reached flying speed, and crashed off the end of the runway killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew-members.

Although this example involved only one aircraft, the typical runway incursion places both a taxiing aircraft and another either landing or taking off at grave risk of collision.

Technological Solution

In response to this risk, every modern passenger aircraft has a technology-rich, “glass” cockpit.  Many tasks formerly done by pilots can now be accomplished by on-board electronic aids such as the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), an encyclopedia containing a number of manuals, charts, airport approaches formerly maintained in paper form.

One of the great tools incorporated into the EFB is a moving-map computer display, showing each aircraft’s exact position and movement on the surface of the airport.

Freed from the need to reference paper charts when taxiing, pilots are more aware of their exact location on the airport.  Tower and ground control clearance instructions are incorporated to allow the pilot to be constantly attentive to clearance instructions.

The Human Factor

Whilst technology always creates new issues, it offers unique and powerful solutions to some of our most persistent and pressing safety concerns.  It will be many long years, however, before any of us feel comfortable flying without a pilot!   Fly Safely!

Surprised by what causes airplane disasters? What do you make of the technology employed to keep us safe?? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you!

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Photo: Rob Young

Capt Alan W. Price

Captain Alan W. Price reveals some fascinating facts about aircraft bird strikes and re-creates the terrifying moments leading up to Air Flight 1549’s miraculous landing in the Hudson River.

4 little-known facts about aircraft bird strikes
1. Since 1998, only 219 deaths have occurred worldwide as a result of bird strikes, from a total of close to one billion flights!*

2. Damage from bird strikes is estimated at 550,000 hours of aircraft down time/year which equates to an annual cost of $625 million.*

3. Aircraft engines and windshields are tested through simulated bird strikes whereby dead chickens are fired from a cannon at varying weights and speeds.

4. Despite these precautions, large birds such as geese can still cause catastrophic damage, as experienced by US Air Flight 1549.

* Source “Aviation Week and Space Technology”

5 techniques for averting a bird strike disaster
1. Distinctive swirl patterns are sometimes painted on engine compressor hub spinners, mimicking a giant rotating barber shop pole.

2. Aircraft windshield glass is built several inches thick to prevent penetration. Electrical heat systems are used to warm the glass, making it more malleable and resistant to damage.

3. Airports are often built near areas that attract birds – garbage dumps, marshy wetlands etc.. Noise cannons, scarecrows and bird activity reports all are part of the defensive systems aimed at combating bird hazards.

4. The majority of bird strikes occur below 3,000’AGL. Efficient departure/arrival handling by air traffic control can lead to less time spent at these lower altitudes.

5. Pilots avoid flocks of birds the same way they avoid other aircraft – through a “see and avoid” method, with “eyes out of the cockpit” at lower altitudes.

Birds!
Picture this. It’s just after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia airport, gear up, climb speed established. Initial departure path will take you to the north, then up the Jersey side of the Hudson. Climbing through 1,000’AGL (Above Ground Level), you accelerate toward best climb speed and finish the after takeoff checklist. Life is good. Suddenly, whilst climbing through 3,000’AGL, you notice grey streaks flashing past the windscreen. “Birds!” You hear, feel, and smell the impact.

Your goose is cooked
“Your goose is cooked” is a bad thing when dealing with jet engines. Birds, lots of large birds picked today to use your A320 for target practice. Both engines are fatally damaged. You feel the loss of thrust, and look for a place to put this puppy down. Ninety seconds later, you are in the ice-cold waters of the Hudson River.

Train the way you want to fly
What I’ve just described is the first few minutes of US Air Flight 1549. Let me say this plainly – in circumstances like these, when an unexpected emergency occurs, pilots do not think like normal people imagine they think. When pilots have a problem, they’ve got to solve it. There’s no time to worry about what might have been. Years of experience and thousands of hours of training kick in.

There is an old adage in military circles – “train the way you want to fight.” In aviation parlance it’s – “train the way you want to fly.” Endless hours of simulated emergencies spent in full-motion simulators allow modern pilots to be “there” before we are actually “there.” Capt Sullenberger and his crew leveraged this advantage – training – coupled with a huge amount of aviation creativity to perform an incredible ditching in the Hudson River. “Sully” would be the first to tell you it wasn’t perfect, but it was damn good.

Keeping cool in a crisis
In the event of a bird strike, the pilot’s first order of business is damage assessment. Damage to the windshield is immediately obvious, engine damage can usually be diagnosed by scanning engine instruments. If damage does occur, we are faced with a “go/no go” choice – landing short of destination or continuing. US Air Flight 1549 faced a wonderfully simple choice since they became an unpowered glider. The decision was not if they should land, but where!

I once ingested several birds from a flock of sea gulls into both engines. The abiding memory that stays with me is the smell of cooked birds. There was no obvious damage, and the question foremost in my mind was “could it be unseen”? That’s where professional judgment comes in. In my case, we continued to destination since we were nearby. Inspection on the ground produced numerous feathers, but no engine damage.

Final words
If you are unlucky enough to experience an aircraft bird strike, you want your pilot to have a healthy sense of skepticism. This serves well when things go wrong. Bird strikes are always unexpected, so your pilot’s response is crucial. Advance planning also becomes a huge factor for averting potential disaster.

In the final analysis, you should find comfort in the fact that the chances of being hit by a bird strike are miniscule. Should one occur, the chance of major damage is small. If your aircraft does suffer major damage, the probability of physical harm is still remote. US Air Flight 1549 defied all these odds – it was an exceptional event in more ways than one. So my final words on bird strikes? Relax. The Force is with you!

Fly Safely.

Capt Alan W. Price

Man-Machine Systems Engineering: how humans relate to technology and each other

High Expectations

Since the dawn of aviation, the prevailing expectation was that better technology would equal lower accident rates. However, in the late 1970’s we noticed that although Aviation technology had improved dramatically, accident rates remained stubbornly resistant to change. We found that improved technology was solving problems while creating others.

Cockpit Confusion

For example, more automation in the cockpit led to new ways of managing the aircraft, often with unintended consequences. Each pilot in a modern “glass” cockpit has an FMS (Flight Management System) computer screen. Simply put, on autopilot inputs into the FMS control the speed, altitude, and flight path of the aircraft. “If” one pilot should make inputs into the FMS without notifying the other pilot, each pilot could have a different idea of the future vector of the aircraft. This has happened on many occasions because one pilot assumed the other knew what he was doing. FMS technology has changed the rules on how we communicate in the cockpit, always notifying and obtaining acknowledgment from the other pilot when changes are made in the FMS.

Wiener’s Law

Dr. Earl Wiener addressed the idea that humans faced new challenges each time the technology changed with one of his famous Wiener’s Laws: “Any time you solve a problem you create one. The best you can hope for is that the one you solved is of greater magnitude than the one your created.”

The Human Factor

Innovative research by Drs. Bob Helmreich, Earl Wiener, John Lauber, and Clay Foushee, among many others, led the airline industry to focus on the one element that had not changed: the human element. Thus, a school of thought regarding how pilots relate to each other and to
the technology and tools they use was born. At the time, studies showed that 60-70% of all airline accidents were caused by human error, primarily by flight crews.

Top Training

To reduce this statistic, every major US airline began training pilots
in Human Factor skills. A series of programs, focused upon the human element, became known as CRM (Crew Resource Management). These programs expanded rapidly to include anyone who had a “dog in the fight” as flight attendants, mechanics, and flight controllers/dispatchers were incorporated into the expanded team.

The Power of Teamwork

Today, such courses and the skills they teach are part of commercial airline operations world-wide. CRM is not the only change that we’ve implemented in cockpit protocol over the past 25 years but it has been a huge part of the change. From early statistics showing 60-70% of all commercial aviation accidents were caused by human factor breakdowns, this figure is now in the 50% range. Might not seem like much, but this is a huge improvement. CRM cannot take credit for all of this improvement but is certainly a large part of it.

Risky Business

CRM concepts have also spread to military and corporate flight operations; more recently, CRM has moved beyond aviation to other high-risk, team-centered environments such as hospitals, chemical
plants, and nuclear control rooms. In some high-risk hospital settings, we’ve seen improvements of 50-75% in error/accident metrics.

Plane Comforts

CRM has made a difference. In aviation, there are many success
stories. Accident rates have been reduced. “There are old pilots and
bold pilots but no old bold pilots.” Safety is a systems-oriented
concept that can only be achieved through excellent teamwork. As you
begin your next flight, take comfort in knowing your crew has been
trained for the technical and human aspects of their jobs.

Fly Safely.

Captain Alan W. Price

Photos from Flickr. Photo credit: The cockpit of the Enola Gay by ten safe frogs

Last month, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (a fine graduate of my alma mater, the USAF Academy) took a very courageous stand in his testimony before Congress following the “Miracle on the Hudson.”  Sully told of the worsening conditions in the airline industry in regard to compensation and retention. One of the most cogent comments he made was “I do not know a single pilot who would counsel their children to choose a profession in the airline industry.”  Let me relay my own story and relate it to the tapestry Sully weaves.

Four years ago, I retired several years early from a profession I loved and in which I had spent my entire working life.  The last 20 years of my career, I held increasing levels of responsibility and loved the people and challenges of the airline industry.  Early retirement for me was a very tough choice, but one made only for economic reasons…I fully expected my airline to declare chapter 11 (they did) and cancel my pension (they did). The pilots doing the same job today are making roughly 50% of what I did due to pay, benefit, and work rule changes. They are still making a decent living, but at a far lower rate than before. At my airline, over 1,500 very experienced captains took early retirement in the years preceding the bankruptcy, many seeking to preserve a portion of their pension by retiring early – a huge loss of experience and this at just one airline!

Reaching the pinnacle of an airline pilot’s career requires many years of preparation.  While gaining experience and ratings, pay and working conditions are sub-par.  The time and commitment required is akin to a doctor who finishes medical school and then spends many more years in specialty training. Then, when reaching the top of one’s career, the rules change and the economic model is completely rewritten.  This is the state of our industry today. These changes have affected not only our pilot population, but all those who support the operation – mechanics, gate agents, flight attendants, etc. In many ways, the glory is gone and it has become “just a job” to many people.

I share this situation to make the case that Sully is right, that young people choosing a profession today are less and less attracted to the future they see in the aviation.  In some ways, this is a national crisis that has been years in the making and will only come to fruition some years in the future when pilots and other specialists become scarce.  The law of supply and demand dictates that scarcity will force improvements in conditions, but not if there are less experienced pilots willing to take the jobs formerly held by pilots with much greater experience.

This was the point Sully was trying to make…we have to deal with today’s issues before they become tomorrow’s crisis. There are many ways to obtain flying experience, and no one of these is the “right” way. But, there is no substitute for experience in the cockpit to enhance safety and prepare one for the unexpected emergency such as Sully and his crew faced. We may be producing pilots but not nearly enough pilots with the robust training and background necessary to obtain the highest levels of competence in the cockpit.

Lest I seem all doom and gloom, there are solutions to these problems.  The beginning of solving any problem is awareness, and we’ll talk in future blogs about steps we can take now to avoid a crisis of experience later.

Fly Safely,

Captain Alan W. Price

Photos from Flickr. Photo credit: B777-223/ER on final approach to Ezeiza International Airport by Irargerich