For a long time now, there have been numerous Pprune discussions on the subject of automation dependency or automation addiction and its effect on hand flying skills. There is no shortage of research material that indicates in todays automated aircraft, degraded instrument hand flying skills is a top agenda with flight safety authorities,. So much so, the FAA last year issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) - the purpose of which was to encourage operators to promote manual flight operations when appropriate.
Further study of Pprune reader's responses to the subject of hand flying practice, whether in flight or in a simulator, has opened up a whole new scare (for want of a more descriptive word) that the perceived increase in work-load suffered by the non-flying pilot or PM, when the other pilot is hand flying, is so great as to be counter productive.
In other words, the ability or otherwise for the PNF to be able to watch what is going on (situational awareness is the buzz-word I believe) while the other pilot flies by hand, becomes the deciding criteria whether hand flying places the conduct of the flight at risk. I wonder if this is a generational thing where in the past 20 years there has been a very significant increase in human factors (CRM, TEM etc) accent in the airline industry. In particular the ever increasing sophistication and reliability of automation.
Are we jumping at shadows when a pilot who decides to keep his hand in with manual flying at an appropriate time in the flight, has to first weigh up the perceived risk of his PNF reaching a dangerous level of "over-loading" caused by having to watch that the other pilot doesn't stuff up in the eyes of the PNF, while practicing hand flying.
Is one of the more unexpected consequences of automation dependency a syndrome where the PNF is out of his automation comfort zone and anything that is out of the ordinary (the other chap actually hand flying) increases his heart rate (
) to the extent he is unable to differentiate between normal professional skills once expected of a crew and a fear of "work-overload"
We see on Pprune, frequent complaints that the so called work load of the PNF increases so significantly if the other pilot disengages the automatics - be it the autopilot or merely a flight director, that the PNF feels unable to adequately cope. It is sometimes claimed that watching the pilot hand fly results in a reduction of situational awareness by the PNF. He is so worried about the pilot hand flying, that he (the PNF) is in danger of losing track of what is happening around him. Yet the EFIS MAP mode is supposed to lead to increased situational awareness and the PNF will have that in front of him.
We all have a personal views based largely on our experience in hand flying. Some enjoy hand flying while others avoid it. With the proliferation of cadets brought up largely on full use of automation at all times, it seems to me these pilots are exposed to so much automation that the very thought of having to hand fly fills them with apprehension. Is it any wonder that, if the other crew member switches off the automatics to get hand flying practice, the PNF gets the cold sweats at having not only to "monitor" the hand flying pilot but even turn the occasional MCP knob at pilot request and then complains of being overloaded. Maybe airline pilots have been brain-washed with so much so called Human Factor subjects that they see threats coming from all directions to the ridiculous degree where the PF has to think twice before going Click - Click, lest his PNF becomes too rattled. It then becomes less trouble to forget hand flying practice and keep the automatics engaged.
There is a saying that airline flying is an incredibly boring job, punctuated by moments of intense fear. That being so, I feel for the PNF when the other guy goes Click-Click.
The term "Fear of Flying" then takes on a whole new meaning...
