How you implement tech in the cockpit determines its usefulness and safety.
In April 2011, a Dyn’Aéro MCR01 Club flew into the side of Mount Duppa near Nelson in poor weather conditions.1
The impact was not survivable.
The pilot had fitted the aircraft with a sophisticated but uncertified GPS moving map device, in which they likely placed a high degree of faith.
However, due to an error with the software, the moving map display showed the height of Mt Duppa as 1717 feet, not the correct 3717 feet.
Secondly, poor resolution data used by the system resulted in all displayed terrain to be 600ft lower than the actual terrain.
Both software issues, combined with the pilot’s high level of reliance on this technology, were contributing factors to the accident.
Problems with technology may arise when the flood of additional information overwhelms a pilot’s fundamental disciplines of looking out and listening, says CAA Flight Examiner Aaron Pearce.
“Pilots might think they have it covered with moving maps, ADS-B and ACAS, but that’s only part of the picture.”
A real risk is pilots becoming fixated on using a device or interpreting its display, to the detriment of their situational awareness, lookout, or even of flying the aircraft.
“The aircraft keeps moving forward while you’re looking inside rather than out,” Aaron says.
“Learning to incorporate the ADS-B display into the scan, is another vital component. It needs to become a part of the general instrument scan without degrading the lookout.
“We should still be eyes outside the cockpit more than 90 percent of the time.
“Flying in visual meteorological conditions is underpinned by the see and avoid principle, a welldeveloped and practised lookout, standard procedures, and standard airmanship – with or without tech.
“Pilots and instructors need to focus on getting the fundamental skills of lookout and a ‘mental moving map’ going, before introducing any supplemental technology.
“A listening watch, audible cues, or a target on a screen may give you the prompt to focus and enhance your lookout in a particular direction or area.”
CAA Flight Examiner Katrina Witney agrees that any change in the display, from paper to digital, needs to be incorporated into the VFR scan.
“Any introduction of non-essential equipment into the cockpit should be used with caution.
“It should never be fitted to the aircraft so as to block the pilot’s visual field.”
Aaron Pearce adds that pilots should know when to put such technology aside.
“That’s when it gets busy or when it’s potentially a distraction from actually flying the machine.
“For example, the circuit environment is often not the place to be using ADS-B for separation.
“Eyes need to be up and outside, visually ensuring separation from other traffic.
“Flying the aircraft and maintaining separation from others must always come first. In visual meteorological conditions, this means eyes are outside.”
And it’s not just pilots straight off their PPL who need to be wary, says Aaron.
“The pilots who learned to fly 30 years ago are now incorporating tech into their flying.
“We’re not just talking about tablets or moving map devices either – more and more aircraft have tech built in.
“A lot of it is cheap and relatively easy to use.
“But pilots should remember that technology fails and sometimes, especially with non-certified systems, you might not know it’s failed.
“There’s no design requirement for uncertified systems to self-monitor or give a warning in the case of failure.”
Katrina Witney says any technologically enhanced aircraft needs additional type rating ‘differences’ training.
“If someone holds a C172 type rating in an analogue aircraft and wishes to fly a C172 equipped with a glass cockpit, they should be taught the differences, including how to handle emergencies and failures, prior to solo flight.”
Pushing the limits of safety
Aaron Pearce says pilots need to be wary about technology causing them to push the limits of safety.
“It can give pilots a false sense of confidence. It lures them into situations they would never go normally.
“It can lead them into lower and lower visibility – well below their personal minimum, or even getting on top of a solid layer of cloud while VFR.
“The technology might put you in a place you don’t have the skills to be.”
Getting the better of tech
The best thing a pilot can do if they’re new to technology in the aircraft, is to receive private instruction, says Aaron.
“Not all instructors are going to know about the piece of tech you have, so you must seek out the right person.
“For example, an angle of attack indicator in GA aircraft is a great and simple bit of kit.
“But unless it’s correctly calibrated, and properly taught to and understood by the pilot, it could create more trouble and risk than flying without it.”
Technology in the aircraft, including apps, should be understood first on the ground, before a pilot gets airborne.
“If your aircraft has a glass cockpit, invest in a ground power supply so you can sit in it with the systems running before you’re in the air,” says Aaron.
“That way, you can learn how to use and trouble shoot the tech front to back.
“If you know how to troubleshoot it on the ground, if anything happens in the air it’s not so much of a distraction.”
Even knowing how your aircraft’s attitude affects the fuel warning reading is vital.
“Going to app developer roadshows, watching app lessons on YouTube™, and keeping the apps up-to-date are all things I’d recommend.
“Knowing the technology inside and out could save you from an embarrassing outlanding or, at the very least, a stressful diversion.”
Moving map displaying height for Mt Duppa as 1717 feet. The correct reading should have been 3717. The error was due to an overlap in the way the digital map was displayed, cutting off a fraction of the original map, making the 3 look like a 1. (The safety investigation noted that the avionics manufacturer swiftly corrected the display errors thought to have contributed to the accident.) Source: Aircraft accident report CAA occurrence number 11/1504.
Footnote
1 Aircraft accident report CAA occurrence number 11/1504 [PDF 805 KB]