Written by: The Proficient Airman, Mubashar Yasin.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the regulating body of the US government and governs the civil aviation within its country. This includes and is not limited to air traffic control, certifications of aircraft and crew as well as airport standards. The counterpart regulating body in the UK is known as UK CAA.

The FAA has recently released an advisory circular (AC) to guide pilots to take action to avoid aircrafts if they are faced in such situations mid-air. Advisory circulars are publications released by the FAA to provide guidance to ensure compliance is kept with operational standards. Whilst guidance is only guidance and is not compulsory – but any guidance that enhances safety and operational standards is worthy of note.

 The AC document, AC 90-48E titled as ‘Pilots role In Collision Avoidance’ details pilots contribution to mid-air crashes and the need for better training and operational practises. It details the right-of-way rules, airspace classes and VFR to IFR minimum requirements. As well as addressing human factors, environmental conditions, communications and training that can better protect aircrafts and crews in question from avoidable fatalities.

Today, aircrafts are highly automated and it is easy to become “over-reliant” on such automated systems. However, the report recommends the pilots to be aware of the flight-path and ready to intervene at any moment.

Another issue the report hints at is the de-skilling due to automation. With increased dependence on automation there is less manual flying and maintenance of skills throughout operations on a day-to-day basis. Therefore the report recommends airlines promote the maintenance of manual-flying in order for pilots to rapidly and simultaneously respond to mid-air emergencies whilst flying the aircraft manually.

This report is incredibly important following mid-air crashes that we can learn from and move forward with. For example, in the wake of the Boeing 737 crashes investigators concluded the accident was caused by a failed flight control system but flagged up pilot mishandling. As well as the Asiana Airlines crash in Sans Francisco (2013) which was attributed to ‘pilot mismanagement’ and ‘over-reliance of automated systems’.

This comes at an interesting time when European regulators are lobbying the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) to develop automation that will allow for single-pilot airline operations. This will definitely be supported by airlines as a cost-cutting initiative and addressing the crew shortages. Does this offer the same level of safety and operational excellence as a two-member crew does? Following the Boeing 737-Max flight control failures – should further automation and a single member crew be our focus point right now? Mental health of pilots has led to deliberate mid-air crashes in the past – how confident are we to avoid a similar disaster with a single member crew? These are some of the questions from a pool of concerns that needs addressing. I look forward to writing a post on automation and what this could mean for the modern-era aviation industry.

For anyone that wishes to read the full FAA AC, please follow click the link here.