Airbus pilots 'too reliant on technology'
EXCLUSIVE by VICTORIA BUTTON
A Cathay Pacific Airbus.
Cathay Pacific Airbus pilots are to be given mandatory briefings after a warning that they are relying too heavily on automatic systems to correct potentially dangerous errors.
In a leaked internal e-mail, dated July 31, chief pilot of the Airbus fleet Richard Hall warned that over-reliance on automatic protection systems was potentially dangerous. "If we do not address this issue, I believe that one day we may step outside the capabilities of the protections and get badly bitten," he said.
The error detected by Cathay was of pilots retracting wing flaps too soon after take-off when the plane was going too slowly, the e-mail said.
A pilot said Airbus planes had an automatic system which increased the plane's speed - by opening the throttle and pointing the nose of the plane down - to keep it flying if the wing flaps were retracted too early. Cathay has 35 Airbus planes.
"We are relying on our 'protected' aircraft to look after us rather than good airmanship and adherence to standard operating procedures," he said.
"Unfortunately, it is still only an aircraft, it obeys the basic laws of aerodynamics."
Mr Hall said pilots of Cathay's 42 Boeings, which did not have the automatic protection facility, were not retracting the wing flaps early, leading him to conclude the Airbus pilots were afflicted by "automation complacency".
All pilots would be ordered to attend mandatory briefings on the situation to emphasise the importance the airline placed on it, he said. Information also will be posted on Cathay's internal Web site and notice boards.
Former head of the Civil Aviation Department Peter Lok Kung-nam said the situation described in the e-mail was "not that dangerous" because of multiple layers of protection in pilot training, aircraft design and clear take-off routes.
However, there was a risk that conflict between human and computer commands could put the plane in a situation its systems were not programmed to handle, he said.
In addition, the computer could keep the aircraft from stalling but would not automatically stop it from crashing into obstacles, he said.
"Complacency is simply taboo in the pilot profession," said Mr Lok, who is now an aviation consultant.
Mr Lok said there had been crashes in the past caused by pilots who were not aware of the limitations of automatic systems, and by pilots retracting wing flaps too early in planes with no automatic protection.
The managing director of Trinity Aviation, Steve Miller, said the e-mail appeared to show that Cathay's system of monitoring their cockpits was effective.
"I wouldn't worry," he said.
One pilot said the incidents detected were not in themselves of major concern, but could be a symptom of something more important, such as complacency or tiredness.
However, incidents such as those described in the e-mail could potentially lead to a so-called "coffin corner" scenario where the anti-stall mechanism, which provided extra speed, could cause another type of problem, such as a collision.
Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Lisa Wong Lai-shan said: "We have a flight operation monitoring system in place and part of the chief pilot's job is to be pro-active in identifying ways to improve the standard of operation."