The tragic crash of flight AF447 shows the unlikely but catastrophic consequences of automation
New research, recently published in the INFORMS journal Organization Science, examines how automation can limit pilots’ abilities to respond to "loss of control" incidents like the one that led to the crash of flight AF447, as becoming more dependent on technology can erode basic cognitive skills. By reviewing expert analyses of the disaster and analyzing data from AF447’s cockpit and flight data recorders, the researchers found that AF447, and commercial aviation more generally, reveal how automation may have unanticipated, catastrophic consequences that, while unlikely, can emerge in extreme conditions.