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I know nothing about aviation but it seems to me like the auto pilot software could use a lot of improvement. Why on earth would you give the pilot an instruct

I know nothing about aviation but it seems to me like the auto pilot software could use a lot of improvement. Why on earth would you give the pilot an instruction that would almost certainly lead to a crash ? It seems like there aren’t enough sanity checks. Any such dodgy situation should trigger an alarm and disengage the auto pilot imo.

sitharus 5y ago
Auto pilots disengaging and sounding an alarm in unexpected situations have lead to multiple crashes, also the autopilot wasn’t engaged at the time, but the pilot was following a computer created flight path. Commercial aviation is designed around highly trained people following defined procedures. Auto pilots are not supposed to second-guess the inputs because that adds to confusion and cognitive load on the pilots. Pilots tell the computer what to do, not the other way around. What _should_ have happened here is the pilot monitoring should be watching the instruments and calling out flight stages. When the pilot flying didn’t initiate a proper climb they should have called this out, or taken over control until a safe altitude was established. This wasn’t an autopilot issue, this was a breakdown on crew resource management.
teeray 5y ago
By my reading, auto pilot was not involved. Flight Directors are basically an overlay on the instruments showing where the pitch, roll, etc. of the plane needs to be to achieve the programmed navigational fixes.
- lovasoa 5y ago
  Is there any situation when it would make sense to have the flight director set to an altitude of zero before takeoff ? If not, then maybe it shouldn't stay switched on and set to zero after landing when the crew leaves the cabin ? Couldn't it be reset automatically ?
  - teeray 5y ago
    Yes, if the field is below sea level. They do exist!
  - behringer 5y ago
    That's what the memo the airline company put out said about this. It's hard to say if it's a good thing or not, imagine an incorrect flight plan is entered but non 0, you could fly straight into another flight path or an obstacle, like a mountain.
  - crooked-v 5y ago
    The preflight checklist covers setting this (and all other parameters) to correct values. Not only did the flight crew not do that, the statement by Emirates heavily suggests that instead of making people actually follow the preflight checklists (which cover many other safety-critical settings), they're relying entirely on the plane being left in the right state by the previous crew.

sitharus 5y ago

Auto pilots disengaging and sounding an alarm in unexpected situations have lead to multiple crashes, also the autopilot wasn’t engaged at the time, but the pilot was following a computer created flight path. Commercial aviation is designed around highly trained people following defined procedures. Auto pilots are not supposed to second-guess the inputs because that adds to confusion and cognitive load on the pilots. Pilots tell the computer what to do, not the other way around. What _should_ have happened here is the pilot monitoring should be watching the instruments and calling out flight stages. When the pilot flying didn’t initiate a proper climb they should have called this out, or taken over control until a safe altitude was established. This wasn’t an autopilot issue, this was a breakdown on crew resource management.

teeray 5y ago

By my reading, auto pilot was not involved. Flight Directors are basically an overlay on the instruments showing where the pitch, roll, etc. of the plane needs to be to achieve the programmed navigational fixes.

lovasoa 5y ago
Is there any situation when it would make sense to have the flight director set to an altitude of zero before takeoff ? If not, then maybe it shouldn't stay switched on and set to zero after landing when the crew leaves the cabin ? Couldn't it be reset automatically ?
- teeray 5y ago
  Yes, if the field is below sea level. They do exist!
- behringer 5y ago
  That's what the memo the airline company put out said about this. It's hard to say if it's a good thing or not, imagine an incorrect flight plan is entered but non 0, you could fly straight into another flight path or an obstacle, like a mountain.
- crooked-v 5y ago
  The preflight checklist covers setting this (and all other parameters) to correct values. Not only did the flight crew not do that, the statement by Emirates heavily suggests that instead of making people actually follow the preflight checklists (which cover many other safety-critical settings), they're relying entirely on the plane being left in the right state by the previous crew.