Structural Redesign of Pilot Training and the Automated Aircraft

Flight skill loss due to the overuse of automation has become an industry concern. Aircraft accidents have been attributed to pilots' inability to manage their aircraft in manual flight resulting from unexpected changes in automation and loss of situation awareness. While aviation experts have associated these accidents to diminished stick and rudder skills from the overuse of automation, the problem may be attributed to how pilots are trained in automated aircraft. The FAA has encouraged pilots to manually fly to improve skills; however, limited opportunities for manual flight exist in the current international environment, with potentially less opportunities in the future due to NextGen compliance. A critical view of pilot training identifies how airlines could train pilots in modern day aircraft to maximize safety. The benefit of computer-based training to teach operating procedures, fixed based simulators versus level D full flight simulators, redesigning training programs to improve pilots' understanding through cognitive load theory, and the power of repetition will be addressed.