We Have a No Crash Policy! by Adam L. Alpert

Author:Adam L. Alpert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACAD INC

“Mister Sulu, course 113, mark 7.” We watch as the navigator pushes a few colored buttons on the console and voila! The starship precisely alters course. “Standard orbit, Mister Sulu.” A few more buttons and the ship is orbiting a yet to be explored planet—even more impressive given the myriad calculations and maneuvers needed to engage a strong gravitational field.

Can it be that operating in outer space is a simpler proposition than navigating the Earth’s modern airspace system? Well, at least as imagined in Star Trek, Mister Sulu’s control inputs suggest great progress in improvements to the human-systems interface needed for intergalactic travel.

Quite the opposite has happened here on earth. While aircraft systems have become more capable, they also have, in some cases, become more difficult and complex to run. This is one of the reasons why frequent retraining is required to stay current and safe. For a pilot flying multiple types of aircraft, maintaining proficiency can be more than a full-time job. Minor differences in procedures among types, while innocent in isolation, can create big problems for pilots switching back and forth.

The news isn’t all bad. In addition to becoming more capable, modern systems have also become a lot more reliable. Radios don’t fail as often, and the wheels almost always go down when commanded. Management of systems in the cockpit also has gotten better in that there is much less improvisation needed. The appropriate response to a yellow crew alert system (CAS) message on the multi-function display (MFD) in the Cessna CJ4 that says “J-BOX LIMITER OPEN L” is to go to an emergency/abnormal checklist, where both an explanation of the problem and proper actions are recorded. In this case, the alert means there is an open 225-amp fuse in the aft junction box, indicating that if the left generator were to fail there would be no power available to systems drawing from the respective electrical buses on the left side. Recommended action: land as soon as practical. Gone is the need to speculate or ponder what to do next.

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