The new last line of defense against aviation accidents

摘要

Every pilot knows safety depends on monitoring the aircraft's flight path and systems. What might not be obvious is that to ensure the highest levels of safety, each flight crewmember must also actively cross-check the actions of each cockpit colleague. These crew monitoring and crosschecking functions can literally be the last line of defense; when a crewmember can catch an error or unsafe act, this detection may break the chain of events leading to an accident. Monitoring and cross-checking accomplishes three important functions: It keeps the crew apprised of the current status of the aircraft; it helps the crew catch their own errors; and it helps them detect evolving aspects. Even the best of crews is vulnerable to error, and almost every flight involves some unpredictable aspect that must be detected and managed.