Citing persistent “vulnerabilities of flight crew automation management,” the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing an advisory circular containing numerous recommendations for modifications to pilot training programs and operational procedures, all intended to improve pilots’ flight path management (FPM).
“Loss of control‒in flight remains one of the leading causes of accidents,” the FAA said in announcing a draft of Advisory Circular (AC) 120-FPM in the Feb. 3 Federal Register. “One of the factors that contributes to these accidents is a flight crew’s failure to manage the flight path of the aircraft.”
The FAA noted that major improvements have been made over the last two decades in design, training and operational use of onboard systems for flight path management, but “there are still vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.”
