Man and Machine — Page 292, Lesson 479

I want to walk you through a section that gets right to the heart of a modern cockpit challenge — the relationship between the human crew and the automated systems. This is titled "Man and Machine," and it starts by looking at the difficulties that arise with crew coordination and communication when automation is in the picture. First, let's talk about the data access problem. Each crew member has access to an ever-expanding database and individual access to commands. That sounds like a good thing — flexibility — but the book warns that this flexibility can be dangerous unless there is a concerted effort to coordinate and inform the other pilot of your intentions and actions. So the danger is that you each have your own screen, your own data, and you can act independently, but if you don't talk to each other, you lose the shared picture. Next, there's a physical and social effect: the co-pilot tends to move less, which leads to a possible further loss of body language communication. In a traditional cockpit, you'd see the other pilot reaching for a lever or pointing at an instrument — that non-verbal communication is reduced when both pilots are heads-down programming. Then there's the problem of information overload through acronyms. The number of acronyms is so high that the less frequent ones tend to be ignored or confused with familiar acronyms. So you might think you know what a certain three-letter code means, but it could be something different, and you miss it. Also, digital reports tend to be so detailed that crew can lose a great deal of time reading through them when prompt action might be necessary. So instead of acting quickly, you're scrolling through data. And here's a critical one: difficulty in changing plans. Data entry is lengthy and very prone to errors. Pilots tend to get involved in time-consuming changes to programmed parameters — and with that comes a loss of situational awareness — whereas manual override on the flight path would have been the best way to ensure flight safety. The book gives two classic examples that have caused many accidents: a runway change on final approach, or a change of direction in the hold prior to approach. In both cases, the temptation is to reprogram the flight management computer, but the safer action might be to disconnect the automation and fly manually. Now, the book introduces a concept called the "Irony of Automation." Let me read you the exact definition: "Computers do those things that pilots already know how to do well, much better than pilots. But computers do not know how to do those things that a pilot would like to do well." In essence, the irony is that pilots are to oversee an automated system — which they do poorly — and take over when there are abnormal conditions — which they may not be very good at either. So you're bad at monitoring a machine that rarely fails, and when it does fail, you're rusty at the manual skills you'd need to take over. That's the irony. Finally, the book gives a set of principles for "Adaption to Automation." These are practical guidelines. Let me go through them one by one. First and most fundamental: "Fly the aircraft." That never changes. Second: "Take your time. Nothing has changed. You are still flying the aircraft albeit via a computer. Adaption can be a slow process so give yourself a chance to make the beginner's mistakes." So don't rush the learning curve. Third: "Don't get so involved in either reading the reports or entering data that you lose situational awareness or forget that you are flying an aeroplane." Fourth: "Always try and fly with a pilot who is experienced until you are confident." Fifth: "Beware boredom and hypovigilance! Keep 'in the loop' and be alert." Hypovigilance means reduced alertness — when the automation is doing everything, you tend to zone out. You must stay in the loop. Sixth: "Input data only when you have plenty of time. Even while doing so, stop every 15 seconds or so to have a good look round and to keep your situational awareness." That's a very specific and practical technique — every 15 seconds, scan outside and around. Seventh: "Double-check your data entries and get your crew member to check them again independently." So a cross-check, not just a quick glance. Eighth: "Keep in contact with the rest of the crew and keep them current in what you are doing." Verbalize your actions. So the whole message here is that automation is powerful, but it creates new failure modes in communication, planning, and vigilance — and you have to actively manage those.