The human touch

Flight takes place in a dynamic environment of which weather is only one variable. The ability to look beyond the black and white and the ability to anticipate based on experience rather than pure percentages is something that is yet to be found in an algorithm. Forecasters and pilots alike know that a weather change is coming, but pinpointing the time and intensity is far from an exact science.

Sometimes the wind direction and strength will be the first to arrive even though the cloud base and visibility may not legally call for additional fuel. Experience can foresee that the airspace may begin to become congested well before the severest weather ever arrives. Diversions en route will disrupt the airways and the winds may reduce a multi-runway airfield to one single into-wind runway. As the wind increases, so does the chance of windshear events, go-arounds and even more congested airspace.

When each aircraft finally has its opportunity to land, a fair amount of stick-and-rudder skill is needed to safely land the airliner, or execute a go-around if the situation dictates. And for all the advocates of ‘jets fly themselves these days’, the recent conditions were beyond the automatic landing capabilities of the airliners. Even coupled to the instrument approach, the turbulence can be such that the autopilot disengages and requires hand-flying without delay.

Regional pilots, meanwhile, were cruising in flight levels in the heart of severe icing while aeromedical pilots and the like were battling the conditions in single-pilot operations.

The fact is that the ever-changing environment is difficult to predict. On most occasions the flightplan will resemble quite closely the fuel requirements of any given flight, but the variables are many in number. Even on the clearest of days, flight to an airfield equipped with a single runway prompts the pilot to give serious thought regarding carrying additional fuel to make it to another airfield. A systems issue, a disabled aircraft or pavement failure can very quickly turn a routine flight into a pressing emergency with few options if due allowance has not been made.

As technology continues to advance and pass on its benefits to flightcrews, it can obscure the traditionally core skills of pilots in the vast majority of operations. Much of the manipulative element is being replaced by the ability to interface with the automation and manage it to the safest, most efficient outcome. It is an issue that even airliner manufacturers are highlighting in the wake of certain accidents over recent years. However, the physical handling of the aircraft is only one perspective of the issue, albeit a significant one.

Weather forecasts, flight planning, weight and balance and many more aspects of flight operations have computers playing a far greater role than in the past. Gone are the slide rules and finely sharpened pencils, replaced by digital calculations of software code. In the great majority of instances, the results are more precise, more expedient and, for airlines, more cost-effective. Still, like handling the aircraft, the basics can be eroded.

In bygone days, the process of gathering all of the data and manually entering it for an outcome was both laborious and prone to human error. Yet, the training required in understanding the various skills and the longhand repetition served to provide both pilots and ground staff with a deeper understanding of what is actually being calculated. Furthermore, when the system breaks down, there was a deeper level of knowledge to fall back upon.

Both in the air and on the ground, the management of technology is as important as the technology itself. In our everyday lives we can text, tweet, email and call at any time and yet there are still huge issues with effective communication. In fact, poorly considered or misunderstood texts and the like can severely degrade communication without a face or voice to convey the true sentiment of the message. They can even make the situation worse.

Technological advances in aviation will continue at an ever increasing rate. By and large, this is a good thing with benefits to both safety and efficiency, but we can’t afford to leave the human element behind. Training needs to cover more than data in and data out calculations as that is the very area where humans fall down with the slip of a finger. Understanding the principles and ramifications of the information and bolstering it with gross error checks can only enhance the process.

The erosion of pilots’ manipulative skills will continue to stir debate and rightly so. However, as the extreme weather demonstrated, we are still a good way off the digital world of automation possessing all the answers both in and beyond the flightdeck. Whether it is stick and rudder flying, calculating performance data or interpreting weather forecasts, there are still many areas of aviation that require insight and understanding beyond the bold outlines.

Flight planners, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, meteorologists, pilots and everyone else involved in flight operations still bring the human element into the equation. This can be an Achilles Heel, but it is also vital in reading between the lines in a way that no computer can.

Yet.

The ever-changing environment is difficult to predict.