AIRLINES are failing to implement new safety procedures designed to reduce
pilot error, industry watchdogs claim.
The biggest single cause of air accident fatalities, accounting for half of
all deaths, is not mechanical failure but 鈥渃ontrolled flights into terrain鈥�, or
CFITs, by disoriented pilots.
In one horrific example of a CFIT in April, a Colombian jet failed to make a
right turn on leaving Bogot谩, and careered straight into a mountain.
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This type of accident appears to be on the increase. And experts commissioned
by the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, and the International
Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal, say that airlines are placing too much
faith in new technologies to warn pilots of impending disaster, while giving too
little emphasis to basic training and safety procedures.
The CFIT Reduction Task Force, spearheaded by the two organisations, has
spent the past five years researching the causes of CFITs with the goal of
reducing their incidence by half. Last year, it distributed 30 000 copies of a
CFIT avoidance checklist and an education and training aid to the world鈥檚
airlines. The materials contain simple measures but, according to research, are
highly effective. The training aid alerts flight crews to the dangers of CFIT
accidents by taking them through examples. Among other things, the checklist
ensures that crew complete a risk assessment before taking off, reviewing
departure procedures and terrain in the flight path.
Stuart Matthews, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, claims that
airlines aren鈥檛 implementing these countermeasures fast enough. 鈥淲e would like
to have these aids integrated into every airline鈥檚 training programme, and that
is simply not happening,鈥� he says.
Instead, airlines appear to be concentrating on improved ground-proximity
warning systems. Unlike existing systems, which use radar to detect the
proximity of terrain directly beneath the aircraft, the new devices can warn
pilots of dangers ahead and give much earlier warnings.
But Matthews argues that technology isn鈥檛 the answer, at least in the short
term. 鈥淲e have had numerous incidents of people ignoring warnings,鈥� he explains.
Indeed, research has shown that adding new technology to cockpits while ignoring
pilots鈥� ability to act on the information it provides can cause problems rather
than solving them
(鈥淥ut of their hands鈥�, 快猫短视频, 23 November 1996, p 16).
The equipment can鈥檛 be fitted to some older planes, Matthews adds.
And it could take several years for large airlines to equip their entire
fleets.
In the meantime, CFIT incidents may be getting more common. At least seven
have been confirmed this year (see Table),
three more than the number reported
at this time last year. And figures released last week at the 51st annual
International Air Safety Seminar in Cape Town show an upward trend in the number
of approach-and-landing accidents, many of which are CFITs. There are currently
about 15 such accidents each year. If the trend continues, this will rise to 23
by 2010.
The International Air Transport Association in Geneva, which represents more
than 260 airlines, is disappointed by its members鈥� response to the CFIT task
force. Ashok Poduval, the association鈥檚 director for flight operations and
safety, says: 鈥淎ll we can do is encourage them to implement these training aids.
We are looking at ways to get a time-bound implementation framework in place.鈥�