Effective automation management allows the pilot to assess, detect, and correct errors; thus, it helps prevent accidents.
While there is no industry consensus, the levels of automation can be defined as:
No one level of automation is appropriate for all flight situations.
Workload typically decreases at higher levels of automation. However, there are times when manually flying can be more beneficial.
The underuse of automation can lead to errors resulting from the increased workload.
Common errors of automation underuse include:
The overuse of automation can lead to complacency and degraded hand-flying competence and confidence. Pilots should regularly fly the aircraft manually to maintain stick-and-rudder proficiency.
Common errors of automation overuse include:
Automation should be managed actively rather than passively ("set and forget"). Active automation management enhances situational awareness and helps to identify automation failures.
To actively manage the automation, pilots must:
Managing the autopilot means knowing which modes are engaged and which are armed to engage.
Autopilot management errors can be reduced by:
Caution: Anytime the autopilot is disconnected, the pilot should have a firm grip on the controls to counter any unexpected trim forces.
Humans are not well suited for being automated system monitors. Extended periods of performing trivial tasks often lead to daydreaming or complacency.
Monitoring errors can be reduced by:
Effective task management ensures that essential operations are accomplished without overloading the pilot.
Like any other skill, pilots must learn to:
Accidents often occur when flying task requirements exceed the pilot's capabilities. The difference between these two factors is called the margin of safety.
The highest task requirements typically occur during the approach and landing phase. At the same time, the pilot's capabilities may deteriorate due to fatigue or distractions.
Multitasking is the simultaneous execution of two or more tasks. It involves two different abilities: attention switching and simultaneous performance.
Attention switching is the continuous switching of attention back and forth between two or more tasks. For many flying tasks, attention switching is the only way to accomplish multitasking.
Simultaneous performance, or performing several tasks at once, is possible when skills develop to the point of being automatic.
Processing Power: Multitasking comes from a computer's ability to execute tasks simultaneously. But humans are not computers. Human multitasking is a series of constant micro-interruptions and "stop-go" decisions, all of which reduce mental and motor performance.
Lack of Experience: Inexperience with a task can often hinder attempts to combine it with other tasks. New skills should develop in isolation from other tasks.
Exclusion: It isn't easy to perform more than one task that requires cognitive effort. Attention is often devoted to the comprehension of one to the exclusion of the other.
Diminished Quality: When workload increases, the typical response is to reduce standards for quality and achievement.
Task saturation occurs whenever work requirements exceed the worker's capabilities. When a pilot becomes task-saturated, situational awareness is lost, and the possibility of error increases.
Distractions occur when an unexpected event causes attention to be momentarily diverted. Pilots must learn to decide whether a distraction warrants further attention or action.
Interruptions occur when a pilot voluntarily stops performing one task to complete a different one. This can lead to an error if the original task is not resumed correctly.
Fixation occurs when a pilot becomes absorbed in performing one task to the exclusion of other tasks. Fixation on a task often indicates that the task has not received enough practice in isolation.
Inattention occurs when a pilot ignores an important task. It is sometimes a by-product of fixation.
Complacency is overconfidence that results from repeated experience with an activity. It is an insidious and hard-to-identify attitude.
Information management is the ability to monitor, manage, and prioritize a continuous flow of information to accomplish specific tasks. Proper information management reduces pilot workload, enhances situational awareness, and increases navigational accuracy.
A place for everything and everything in its place. Benjamin Franklin
Before starting the engine, items should be arranged to be secure and accessible. Essential equipment should be within easy reach.
These seemingly small actions can reduce workload and enhance safety. Since everyone has a different way of organizing themselves, the optimal arrangement comes through experimentation.
A recommended three-step process of exchange includes:
This procedure should be briefed before flight and include a method to relinquish and take control of the aircraft when normal communications are not possible (e.g., intercom failure).
Commonly known as the sterile cockpit rule, air carrier pilots must refrain from nonessential activities during critical phases of flight.
Critical phases of flight are all ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and landing, and all other flight operations below 10,000' except cruise flight. Nonessential activities include such activities as eating or chatting.
The equivalent sterile cockpit altitude for light aircraft can be defined as 2,500' AGL or at any altitude within 10 minutes of landing.
Checklist act a systematic guide, ensuring that all procedures are carried out in the correct sequence and nothing is omitted. Furthermore, they standardize flight operations, thereby minimizing the chances of human error.
The proper use of a checklist is dependent on the task being conducted. The situation may be such that using the checklist would be either unsafe or impractical, especially in a single-pilot operation. In this case, reviewing the checklist after the elements have been accomplished would be appropriate.
Many checklists differentiate the performance of checklist items by using the terms "pilot flying" (PF) and "pilot monitoring/pilot not flying" (PM/PNF) to avoid confusion. The PF refers to the pilot manipulating the controls, regardless of which seat he or she occupies.
Challenge-And-Response (Do-List): On a typical checklist, there are two columns. The left column is the switch or control that needs to be moved or verified (the challenge). In the right column is the action that needs to be taken with the switch or control (the response).
Each challenge is read and is followed by the necessary task or check being accomplished. A response is made only after verifying the proper configuration or condition exists.
Flow (Do-Verify): A mental "flow" check can be used in high workload situations. The flow is a systematic scan of the instrument panel. It shows the pilot what items to consider, not what to do. After completing the flow, the checklist is read to verify that all items have been completed.
Beginning and Ending a Checklist: To complete a checklist, state the name of the checklist, do the checklist, and when finished, state the name of the checklist again along with the statement "checklist complete."
Interrupted Checklists: If the checklist is only delayed for a brief period, and the pilot is sure of where he or she was interrupted, the item may be completed and the checklist continued. Otherwise, restarting the checklist from the beginning is recommended.
Touch Verification: Pilots sometimes erroneously respond to a checklist item, believing it was accomplished when it was not. Looking at and then touching each gauge, switch, or control helps improve accuracy.
Single-Pilot Operations: During noncritical phases of flight, the pilot should use the challenge-and-response method. The flow (do-verify) method can be used when the workload is higher.
Two-Pilot Operations: The challenge-and-response method is best for a crew environment. The PF should initiate each checklist by calling for it by name. The PNF should perform the checklist while the PF continues to fly. Critical items, such as the flap position, should always be verbalized. The PNF should state when the checklist is complete.
Pilots that choose to use commercially or personally developed checklists should compare them to the manufacturer's checklist and aircraft placards to confirm they are consistent. This will ensure the pilot has all pertinent information during flight operations.
The PIC is required to:
Elements of a passenger "SAFETY" briefing:
Other items to consider:
Crew resource management (CRM) applies team management and SRM concepts in a flight deck environment. The "crew" encompasses anyone working with the flight crew, including dispatchers, cabin crew, maintenance personnel, and ATC.
The key to crew coordination is "saying the right thing, to the right person, at the right time, in the right way."
Before any flight, the PIC should conduct a crew resource management (CRM) briefing to establish open communications, teamwork, and crew coordination.
Elements of a CRM briefing:
At any point during a flight, one pilot is flying and one pilot is monitoring.
The pilot flying (PF):
The pilot monitoring (PM):
If the PF needs to engage in activities that would distract from aircraft control, the PF should transfer aircraft control to the other pilot, and assume the PM role.
"Hey, Bob, we only have 30 minutes of fuel remaining. We need to land ASAP. What do you think about that airport over there?"
The two-challenge rule is an intervention policy that allows one pilot to automatically assume the duties of another pilot if he or she fails to react after two consecutive challenges. The failure to respond could be confusion, task saturation, or incapacitation.
Example: