KEY MESSAGES
- With the changing aircraft generations, and the evolution from early jets to the fly by wire technology, the automation on the flight deck has evolved over the years as well. It has however still not reached a point of maturity enabling operations with only one pilot in the cockpit without compromising flight safety.
- For this reason, ECA currently does not support reduced or single pilot operations in CAT during any phase of flight.
- Future further development and increased use of automation in commercial aircraft, and eventually certification of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the use in this environment, should have as a goal enhancement of human capacity, and not its replacement. This in return would increase efficiency and most importantly enhance Flight Safety.
- Two specific concepts, eMCO and SiPO are currently being prepared for implementation in the near and mid-term future and raise great concern. It is crucial that all the safety risks stemming from both concepts are fully analysed, understood, and solved before any change to the standards is considered.
- The concepts are driven by the industry seeking reduction of pilots in the cockpit and increase of maximum flight duty time at zero cost. History has shown that putting economic gains, and even innovation, as primary goal – tends to have a detrimental influence on flight safety.
Introduction
IntroductionAviation is the safest transportation system in history by learning from its mistakes and a constant process of improving flight safety standards.
Building on the knowledge and experience of over a century of commercial flights – the ultimate goal of technological and regulatory developments must not only be maintaining but enhancing aviation safety. This even more so given the expected post-crisis growth in air traffic which requires a constant improvement in safety levels.
The draft EASA concepts of eMCO and SiPO assume reduction of the number of highly qualified safety professionals – the pilots – from the flight deck and raise serious concern about the negative impact on flight safety.
The Extended Minimum Crew Operations concept (eMCO) aims to stretch the maximum flight time limitations by prolonging in flight rest for pilots. To achieve this, only one pilot would be required to remain at the controls for extended periods of the cruise phase while the other pilot would be resting most likely in an area out of the flight deck.
The next intended step for the industry is Single Pilot Operations (SiPO) – in which there will only be one pilot onboard at any given time during flight, also during critical phases of flight such as takeoff and landing. This would require an even higher degree of technical advancements and operating procedures.
Although these two concepts, eMCO and SiPO, can appear similar in nature and operation – they pose in fact both different and similar challenges. They should be treated as two separate types of operations as the defining difference is the on-board availability of a full 2-pilot crew in the eMCO concept – which is not the case in SiPO.
