Controlled Flight into Terrain: How the Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are Addressing the Problem

Abstract

Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is not a new problem. It has been around since the beginning of manned flight. A CFIT accident occurs when an airworthy aircraft, under the control of a pilot, is flown (unintentionally) into terrain, water, or obstacles with inadequate awareness on the part of the pilot (crew) of the impending collision (Wiener, 1977). It would seem that CFIT would be an easy problem to solve or reduce but unfortunately, that has not been the case. CFIT is still the leading cause of all fatal aircraft accidents in the world. Figure 1 illustrates the CFIT accident rate compared to other types of fatal airline accidents. It can be noted that CFIT is not the leading cause of the U.S. fatal accident rate however, the world wide CFIT rate is still a major concern. This paper will address the issues as they pertain to CFIT, to include the causes, prevention and the future aspects in dealing with CFIT. Although the reduction of the CFlT accident rate has been reduced over the years, there still is more that can be done. The Swiss Cheese model of accident causation illustrates that for an accident to occur, hilures have to occur at several levels ofresponsibility(Reason, 1990). The model illustrates the following: 1. Organizational Factors excessive cost cutting reduction in flight hours 2. Unsafe Supervision deficient training program improper crew pairing 3. Preconditions for Unsafe Ads loss of situational awareness poor CRM 4. Unsafe Acts failed to scan instruments penetrated IMC when VMC only 5. Accident and Injury crashed into side of mountain (Reason, 1990) The aircraft that pilot's fly today are the safest and most complex in history. So why are we still having problems with CFIT? The answer is as complex as the aircraft. As pilots, we do not l i e to admit that pilot error could be a contributing factor. If we cannot identify or r e h e to recognize the source ofthe problem, then we cannot begin to find a solution. Pilots must be willing to admit that they are the weak link in the chain and approach this problem in an aggressive manner. With the introduction of advanced avionics, the aviation in* has seen the CFIT accident rate go down. Initial and recurrent training will also be a key factor when approaching the problem. IAAER, Spring 2001 Page 13 1 Matteson: Controlled Flight into Terrain: How the Airlines and the Federal Published by ERAU Scholarly Commons, 2001 Conrrolled Fl i~ht Into Terrain Worldwide and U.S. Airline Number of Fatal Accidents Classified by Type of Accident 1988 1997