[LINK] reliance on automatic technology settings

[Scott Howard]

Don't believe the spin - this crash had (almost) nothing to do with a
reliance on automated technology, and everything to do with pilots who
forgot rule 1 of flying - "Fly the Plane!"

My car has "automated technology" that turns the lights on whenever I turn
the car on, but if I was to go fire it up on a dark night, drive around for
30 seconds, and then slam into a tree I didn't see because the lights
hadn't turned themselves on, would you the fault rest with me, or the
automated system that didn't turn the lights on?

In this case, the pilots flew below their landing speed for over 30
seconds.  They ignored visual aids at the airport intended to let them know
they were coming in too low (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_approach_path_indicator).  Even if
they were relying on the A/T to control the speed, they are still
responsible for monitoring the approach, and that includes both speed and
elevation - yet they failed to do either.  Regardless of what else
happened, this is pilot error, plain and simple.


Whilst we're on cockpit automation, this is a brilliant video taken from
the AA Flight Academy back in 1997 regarding over-reliance on automation -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZDjkIjuHGE

  Scott


On Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 5:36 PM, Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com> wrote:

> Sometimes we talk about the dangers associated with reliance on
> automated technology. Cars that drive themselves and even parallel
> park themselves, automatic updates of software, even thermostats,
> which is a much more simple technology. Set and forget. We are sold
> this on a daily basis. Here's a story where that sort of design and
> human interface can go terribly wrong if the human brain is not
> simultaneously engaged.
>
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/san-francisco-plane-crash_n_3569670.html
>
> The bit that got me was mention of the dozens of crashes resulting
> from this very same setting as on the San Francisco plane.
>
> Jan
>
>
> Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
> jwhit at janwhitaker.com
> blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
> business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
>
> Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or
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> ~Madeline L'Engle, writer
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