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Hit the Wrong Button, Drone Goes Boom
ios and web coder writes "An article at Ars notes, 'Unmanned aircraft crash. In fact, they crash a lot—though there's no recent specific data, the Congressional Research Service reported last year that despite improvements, "the accident rate for unmanned aircraft is still far above that of manned aircraft.' And while many of those accidents can be attributed to being exposed to hostile fire or operating in conditions when aircraft normally wouldn't, a significant percentage of drone crashes is caused by human error. A December 2004 FAA study of Defense Department drone crashes found human factors to be a causal factor in about a third of the cases they examined (PDF).' Drones are un-cheap. As yesterday's Super Hornet story noted, they are cheaper than manned planes... but not that much cheaper. Expect them to get more expensive. Also, as they get armed, the price paid for a bad UX decision could become quite tragic."
"the accident rate for unmanned aircraft is still far above that of manned aircraft.'
In addition to being cheaper, unmanned aircraft have no people on them. So much less of an incentive to worry about safety.
Until the fall on someone's head, that is.
"Un-cheap" is not a word. TFS should say "not cheap". Can we please have some minimal editing for language in future?
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
One third is a surprisingly low percentage. The number of manned small plane crashes caused by human error is probably close to two thirds.
So while I'm sure lot could be done to improve the ergonomics of the pilot, it sounds like the drones' mechanical failure rate is a more worrying problem.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
MTV.com is designed for use within the USA so a lot of the site, including most of the videos, won't work for visitors from outside the country.
That sounds like bitching... why would you bitch about that?
It could be worse, you know - you could be able to access MTV.com.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Data is always valid.
What you meant to ask is, "does that [2004] data apply to the current situation?"
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
"It's who they have flying these things. You would think they could do better."
Maybe. But I think it's more just WHAT it is. Despite the fact that these things cost millions of dollars, flying them is still just a glorified videogame. It's no substitute for actually sitting in the cockpit of a plane, going "Ohhhh shit!"
It's "Death from Above due to incompetence" too? That makes me feel so much better.
The study was done in 2004, nearly a decade ago, and most of the flights during that time were with much earlier
models than available today.
Still you have to worry about what happens when every Barney Fife from your local sheriff department can run one of these
with 10 hours training.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Just for you Jane - http://www.theglobaledition.com/drone-pilot-ejects-from-office-chair/
CFIT was identified as a cause of 25% of USAF Class A Mishaps between 1993 and 2002.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFIT
Controlled (should be "uncontrolled?") Flight Into Terrain. Simply put, "the aircraft was working fine until someone drove it into the ground".
It's easy to do, especially with high workload in a fast jet, in a combat situation.
I guess that the UAV technology is still immature.
You've got to be shitting me.
A news story based on a decade-old study?
In other news, a 2004 study shows that your iPad does not exist!
You are welcome on my lawn.
Actually, UAV pilots are MUCH cheaper. The Army uses enlisted soldiers to fly its drones. The Air Force used to use "real" pilots, but finally caved and now trains cadets as drone operators without putting them in a plane, ever.
I don't know how much of it is that or the fact the drones just don't give you the feedback a real plane does. I have a friend who is a pilot and he's taken me up a few times and he KNOWS exactly what is going on with the plane just by sound and feel. he knows what each and every vibration is and whether it is correct or an indicator of something wrong simply because he knows the planes he flies like the back of his hand. I have heard the same thing from military pilots, that they knew their F4 or F15 like its a part of them and could tell instantly when "something wasn't right" just by what the plane was telling them via sound or vibration.
With the drone you are really only getting video, maybe sound, you certainly aren't getting all the feedback a true pilot gets when they sit in the seat of a real aircraft. Now maybe they will find ways to fix this, maybe computers that will take over if something is going wrong, who knows, but I wouldn't be so quick to blame the pilots when we really are in the most early infancy of the tech.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
And as a passenger I can understand this because once I was shown what to listen and feel for you can tell a HELL of a lot about a plane from sound and vibration. And force feedback really isn't the same, that is like saying a PS3 controller gives you the same info a formula 1 car does when it whips around the track. Even the best force feedback is VERY crude and just doesn't have the ability to give you all the info a pilot normally gets in flight.
And the "crashing flight sims" really don't surprise me, I know a Vietnam F4 pilot who flew a ton of missions over Vietnam and every time he'd try one of the flight sims he'd crash and burn. I even stuck in one with the F4 just to see how he'd do, crash and burn. He said you just don't get enough of the feel to really "read" the plane as he put it and without that he was no better than your average guy.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Any VFR pilot will tell you to never rely on gut instincts and feelings. Flying is not the same as auto cross racing (where you have consistent tactile feedback). Any perception you feel in flight is either your inner ear messing with you (it's the devil on your shoulder) or the feeling is over/under exaggerated. It crucial that you altimeter and air speed be watched at all times.
BTW having been a passenger in a Grumman Cheetah, I can now know why this is the case. Flight is just so much more different than driving. It's deceptive on just feeling alone. I'll take auto crossing any day over it :)
Life is not for the lazy.