3 ms·
> Pilots have downed airplanes because of a malfunctioning pitot tube or fuel indicator light distracting them. To be fair, a malfunctioning pitot tube is a cl
by Zancarius 12y ago
> Pilots have downed airplanes because of a malfunctioning pitot tube or fuel indicator light distracting them.
To be fair, a malfunctioning pitot tube is a class of equipment failure that has had disastrous consequences, so I wouldn't put it in the same category as a distraction. Distraction is usually considered pilot error (or a fault of the design) as in Eastern Air 401 where the pilots were so focused on the landing gear light that they failed to notice one of them had disconnected the autopilot (due in part to a design issue).
I really don't mean to nitpick, but equipment failures are most definitely not analogous in this case. Mostly because you can do many things to reduce the likelihood of equipment failure, but distraction is very nearly impossible to eliminate.
- snom380 12y agoI agree about equipment failure, I used those examples to point out that just because something has occurred several times before doesn't mean you can discount it as a potential contributing factor. A better example is the sterile cockpit rule. You can never eliminate distractions, but you can work on reducing them (though in a worst case scenario I believe that laser flashes can be more than just distractions).