By Andy Pasztor And Robert Wall
More than a decade before the Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy,
European plane maker Airbus Group NV developed but decided not to
deploy an automated system to prevent jetliners from intentionally
being flown into skyscrapers or mountains.
The "auto avoid" system, devised around 2003 by Airbus's top
safety engineers and U.S. supplier Honeywell International Inc.,
was intended for the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet then in
development, company officials said at the time. But because
development of the A380 was running behind schedule, and adding
such a feature would have further complicated and delayed
regulatory approvals, senior Airbus managers said they opted to
leave out the auto-avoid system. The plan lost momentum over the
years, and even its proponents inside Airbus said there were
dangers of premature or mistaken activation.
The faded interest from Airbus and many of its customers in the
feature reflects divergent and shifting views of flight automation
in the aviation industry. Airbus's main rival, Boeing Co., which
relies on a design philosophy that gives pilots greater autonomy,
never warmed to the idea of an auto-avoid system. And there is a
growing sense among aviation experts that undue reliance on cockpit
aids can result in unintended consequences. And some argue such
technology is far from foolproof.
"Even if such a system would be fully autonomous, there are
other ways to deliberately crash an aircraft" such as shutting down
both engines, said Alfred Roelen, a researcher at the National
Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands. "As long as humans are in
the loop somewhere in the system, it is quite impossible to provide
protection against deliberate acts."
Airbus began working on auto-avoid technology in response to the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Proponents saw it as a means to
prevent hijackers from using airliners as weapons.
The concept envisioned onboard computers seizing control if
pilots ignored audible warnings from ground-collision avoidance
systems already installed on jetliners, or if planes tried to enter
computer-generated "no-fly zones" around skyscrapers, monuments,
government buildings or tall peaks. In cases where planes veered
sharply off course, the system would have overridden pilot commands
and, if necessary, taken evasive action on its own.
Airbus on Monday declined to comment on specifics, but said "we
are developing technologies to continuously keep enhancing the
safety of air transport wherever we can."
At the international air show outside London last summer, Airbus
and industry officials said the auto-avoid concept no longer was a
high-priority item. Airbus engineers over the years became
increasingly concerned that computers could inadvertently direct a
plane into the path of another aircraft.
Some experts say auto-avoid systems aren't the most effective
way to deal with the prospect of rogue pilots. Automated systems
"require spending a lot of money to guard against something that
doesn't happen very often, and can be mitigated by having two
people always on the flight deck," said Bill Yantiss, former head
of safety and security for United Airlines.
Safety experts say that low-tech fixes also entail significant
shortcomings. U.S. airlines have generally required two airline
employees to be in cockpits at all times, a policy some European
carriers and regulators embraced last week. However, the crash of a
Japan AirlinesMcDonnell Douglas DC-8 jetliner in 1982 was linked to
pilot suicide even though a co-pilot and a flight engineer were on
the flight deck and tried to save the plane. The crash killed 24 of
the 166 people on board, with the pilot among the survivors.
Still, the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 has revved up
discussion of enhancing protections. "Now we need to consider
threats inside the cockpit," said Jim Hall, a former chairman of
the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
Commercial and military jets already contain other kinds of
automated technology to help avoid disaster. Some current Airbus
jets, including A380s and the new A350 long-range jet, feature
computers that can automatically change course to avoid an
impending midair collision, then return control to pilots. The
design was prompted by studies showing that pilots sometimes
responded incorrectly or excessively to collision warnings. Airbus
said it is encouraging carriers to upgrade existing aircraft with
the feature.
The U.S. Air Force's F-16 fighter jets, which execute maneuvers
at high speed while flying close to the ground, boast advanced
ground-collision avoidance technology that compares the location
and trajectory of the jet with terrain data and commands an
automatic avoidance maneuver when necessary. At least one jet was
saved from crash by the system, which pilots can turn off.
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