IFR's
Cockpit workload increases while operating in a climb or descent phase. You should ensure that during this critical phase of flight your workload does not prevent you from looking out from the cockpit.
The risks are recognised here in writing. Can anyone tell me what the visual scan area from the cockpit of a B737 is? I imagine the vertical limits are restricted and the horizontal limits not much better. Have they examined if the "conflict window" exceeds the crew's ability to see and avoid? i.e. Is a potential collision intruder outside the normal scan view from an airliner's cockpit?
The worst case will be when climbing out of a D tower into the E steps. If there is a scattered to broken cloud layer topping out at 3-4000ft, and a unnotified lighty is legally VMC 1000' above the layer, then there will be little time for a crew to visually acquire the traffic, assess the risk, (disengage autpilot?) and take appropriate manoeuvring action.
The locations where this can occur have the greatest risk factors
No radar
Low level E airspace
VFR traffic not notified
Transponder serviceability or setting unable to be monitored by ATC
"Appropriate frequency" subjective.
If these points can get up in a safety case, (if indeed it has been done at all) then we could probably prove working with live electricity whilst standing in water is safe.
The
snarek brigade have gone quiet. Second thoughts perhaps?
CG