WASHINGTON — According to Federal Aviation Administration, airlines need to provide more extensive pilot training to avoid potential accidents when pilots are forced to take manual control during emergencies or become confused due to erroneous flight data provided by automated systems.
The new cockpit curriculum was partly stimulated by the 2013 crash of an Asiana Airlines aircraft in San Francisco after pilots were confused about automated controls, which caused the plane to hit a sea wall, killing three people.
After the accident, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) recommended the FAA establish a panel of experts to improve pilot training to increase their ability to fly the plane manually when automated flight control systems are not reliable.
"Multiple crashes have shown a need for pilots, who might switch on autopilot soon after takeoff, to sharpen their abilities to fly without automation in case they have to take over during an emergency," the FAA said in the advisory.