Show Pilot Error J Causes Most I Air Crashes I 1 WASHINGTON While WASHINGTON While pilot error is blamed for most air crashes new systems of perfecting pilot technique I are being developed constantly During the war the air force lost I Imore more than half hall as many pilots in I training accidents as it lost in com com- bat An air force study of the experiences experiences ex of flyers since the war disclosed one Important fact All pilots make mistakes some some- times Some pilots make more errors than others and some errors are I Imore more common than others Half of all the errors reported reported were substitutions that substitutions that that is operating operating oper oper- I I the wrong control such as lowering lowering low low- ering eying the wing flap nap instead of the landing gear Nearly one-fifth one were adjustment adjustment adjust moving ment ment moving moving a control too much I or too little tittle or not moving it fast enough I t 1 Nearly one fifth of at the mistakes were simply forgetting to do thing Move love Controls Wrong Tong The rest relt of the errors were caused by a control the wrong way moving it unintentionally or by not being able to reach it Robert V. V Garrett chief pilot and anda ando a o senior accident investigator for forthe forthe forthe the civil aeronautics board says two things need to be done 1 Cockpits should be standard standard- 2 Pilots should be trained more The air force and the navy have taken one important step toward standardization by grouping the six basic instruments used in blind flying These are the air speed indicator directional gyro-compass gyro artificial horizon altimeter turn and bank Indicator Most errors in fact about one- one fifth of all pilot mistakes occur inthe inthe in inthe the power group the group the the four handles which control fuel mixture propeller propeller propeller pro pro- peller pitch fuel and supercharger They must be operated in that order order order or or- der when increasing power and inthe inthe in inthe the reverse order to decrease it Need Natural Arrangement The natural arrangement would appear to be to place the controls in the order of use but few planes have it that way The second most common failing confusing flap and wheels wheels wheels-ac- ac accounts counts for one error in eight Inmost Inmost In Inmost most airplanes those controls are Inthe in inthe inthe the same area and sometimes have havethe havethe havethe the same shape Both are used in landings and takeoffs Garrett proposes that all aU cockpits cockpits cockpits cock cock- pits be whether for military commercial or private i planes I A further step might be changing the movement of some controls such as from horizontal to vertical or Still another r step stell n I ht be to fa place the Tight light used us O to o show I whether a control is on or oft off right in the handle instead of above below below below be be- low or beside it I The next big move for safety Isto is isto isto to increase training Flight training training train train- ing ine is expensive It Jt costs as much muchas as 1500 an hour in a large engine 4 plane When a B mistake occurs it itcan itcan itcan can be very expensive but not as expensive as it would be bl at a later date |