Airbus Plans to Expand Cockpit Automation

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Airbus plans computerized systems that could automatically maneuver jetliners to avoid midair collisions, without pilot input, the Wall Street Journal reports. From the article: 'For the first time, flight crews of Airbus planes will be instructed and trained to rely on autopilots in most cases to escape an impending crash with another airborne aircraft. Currently, all commercial pilots are required to instantly disconnect the autopilot when they get an alert of such an emergency, and manually put their plane into a climb or descent to avoid the other aircraft. The change, which hasn't been announced yet, comes after lengthy internal Airbus debates and despite skepticism from pilot groups and even some aircraft-equipment suppliers.'"

Comments

Airshow accident when computer overrode pilot

[SuperBanana]

wasn't there a plane crash a few years back caused by both planes trying to avoid a mid air collision actually moving into each other?

I don't recall that accident- but I do recall very vividly the huge mess around Air France Flight 296. The pilot was doing a low pass for an air show, gave the engines throttle, and the computer on the Airbus 320 decided "no". The plane crashed and killed three people.

There are photos showing people who never should have touched the black box (civilian aviation authorities, instead of the police), taking it away...and the black box that was taken away from the scene was intact, but the one returned (under court order 10 days later) was different in appearance, if I recall. Quite a bit of telemetry had been completely erased from the data tapes and remaining data was out of sync.

The whole problem originated because some engineer thought it would be a good idea to inject some code into the process of "pilot decides to apply throttle, engines respond." The pilot should ALWAYS be free to override systems, and you should have a really, really, really REALLY good reason for putting any logic into control systems. It almost never works without some sort of hitch; complexity breeds problems.

On almost any plane with an autopilot system, there is a BIG red button on the control yolk that, when pressed, immediately PHYSICALLY disconnects the autopilot from the control systems and sounds a loud beeper for a few seconds.

Furthermore, run-up procedures (at least in non-commercial, small planes I flew in as a passenger) have the pilot a)check that he can physically overpower the autopilot in all control directions (they have a clutch, basically, on the autopilot motors) and b)that the emergency disconnect works. The tests are repeated for rudder and alieron adjustments.

We also have a huge, peer-reviewed system for continuously training pilots in all aspects of flying; pilot's associations, company training and bulletins on safety, procedures, etc in most airlines, and word of mouth. We don't have that for engineers that program computers that handle critical-to-life-and-safety systems on planes...unless they're very experienced pilots themselves. Even then, do you really think Airbus flight control programmers sit down and hobnob with Boeing fligh control programmers? Hell no...