Essay - Radio Altimeter Effectiveness and Cfit How can Technology be Used...

Radio Altimeter effectiveness and CFIT

***** can technology be used to effectively diminish CFIT and ALA incidents?

Air travel is one of the safest means ***** traveling from one location to another in the world. Without air traffic, ***** business world would come to a screeching halt. Although *****es can transfer mass amounts of digital communications DATA, thus eliminating much of the demand on mail and fax transmissi*****s of just a decade ago, businesses organizations ***** still not transfer products, mail, personnel, and other hard goods through electronic blips on the internet. Travel still relies ***** airliners and cargo air-busses which fill the skies around the world and around ***** clock. The experts are agreed that global commercial air traffic will grow at an average 5% per year over the next 20 *****s. This means that ***** will double in 15 years ***** will practically triple by the end of the second decade ***** the next century. (Interavia, 1999)

***** air travel industry is built on principles which have establ*****hed and maintained its safety records. These principles have been the foundation of the industry. One of these principles is that of multiple redundant systems. Once an airliner is in the air, the forces of physics ********** gravity ***** control its flight path. If there is a mistake, or a failed system, no one can ask gravity and inertia ***** take a break while the problem is fixed. So each airplane ***** built with multiple control redundancies in *****der to prepare for any possible problem.

A second principle, which can work counter to ***** first, is that the pilot and crew are always in final control ***** the aircraft. (Luccio, *****01) If the ***** malfunction, the ***** can override them to control the craft. If ***** conditions so warrant, the pilot can turn off individual controls in order ***** ma*****tain control of the air craft. Nei*****r *****s *****r air line companies want to ***** an accident from a failed system, or po***** weather ***** in ***** an au*****mated system locked out the ***** and the resulting disaster was due to a "technical malfunction."

During the past 4 decades, the aviation industry has realized that ***** combination of equipment and ***** needs to be actively managed. The following chart tracks the *****ing body ***** knowledge which has accumulated in the aviation ***** regarding ***** *****.

***** Accident Main Causality

Focus of Airline Safety Efforts

Focus of Manufacturer's Safety Efforts

1960's

Accidents result from individual pilot error, mainly attributed to a l*****ck ***** basic flying skills

***** of appropriate psychomotor skills. Handling training oriented toward handling proficiency.

Designing more reliable aircraft.

1970's

***** ***** from individual pilot error, mainly attributed to a lark of technical proficiency.

***** of ***** psychomo*****r and cognitive *****. Intense use of (increasing fidelity) simulators.

Designing more reliable ***** easy to fly *****. Built in redundancy; fail safe and ***** operational concepts. More au*****mation assistance to flight *****

*****

Accidents result from cockpit crew errors ma*****ly attributed to team