Originally Posted by
Agile
Software
cannot overcome the laws of physics
but it can- diagnose the problem in millisecond,
- analyze 100s of possibilities in a few millisecond more,
- apply the scenario that would maximize the chance of survival.
The key to that is more sensor distributed throughout the aircraft and a huge onboard database
One of the most recent heavy jet crashes had its root in a faulty AOA sensor being acted upon by automated systems. Something which has become very clear in recent years is that the interaction between automated systems decision making and pilot initiative is very complex, not least given the added factors of *multi-mode* automation and the cognitive barriers to a pilot avoiding being dangerously 'behind' an automated system. The decision tree in a
comprehensive automated system would be dauntingly complex, subject to human error in its creation and subject to sensor malfunction in use: yet it would have to be significantly more robust and reliable than existing systems or would offer no net gain. Even then, pilots would need to defer instantly to the automation... unless the automation was malfunctioning, in which case the pilot would need to instantly fight or disable the automation. Which brings us full circle.
There is surely a case for more intelligent and intuitive safety systems, but this accident seems to have arisen from an unforeseen failure mode leading to a malfunction which in all likelihood was simply not recoverable. You can’t automate 'thinking of what you haven’t thought of' nor program a computer to fix in real time any catastrophe which sets the laws of physics in fundamental opposition to accident survivability.