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Old 13th Mar 2015, 08:37
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Non-PC Plod
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Whilst I agree that synthetic vision & enhanced vision systems have the potential to improve SA (lack of which is the fundamental cause of CFIT events), we shouldn't take them as a panacea for all SA evils. In fact if you just fit the kit, there is the old saying that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing", and some pilots will be lulled into a false sense of security to the extent that they will fly in conditions when they would not otherwise have done. Think about the significant training required to operate in low visibility operations, and you will come up against the old problem of costs versus benefits. For the operator: how often do you operate in environments when you really need this kit, and how much will it cost to fit the kit, and give the crews initial and recurrent training in its safe use?

In my experience of training, no kit is going to help much IF you have crews operating with poor (or no) SOPs, if they have poor monitoring skills, assertiveness, mode awareness, and they suffer from automation complacency. These are much more urgent problems to solve for the vast majority of operators out there, before you start giving the crews more fancy kit to learn how to use properly.
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