Gliding selfie!
New devices, new habits - new accidents. Over the last 12 months numerous incidents occurred thanks to technology that would have been impossible 10 years ago. We want to warn you about them. Here's a short list of things to be aware of and 'not-to-do'.
Steven Morgan, Global Sales Manager for RocketRoute:
"Technology makes the pre-flight and in flight process a lot easier, but knowing when you can use it correctly is key to operating safely. The old adage Aviate, Navigate, Communicate should always be in the back of your mind when flying. When used correctly technology improves your situational awareness helping to avoid airspace infringements or other traffic, or with small cameras able to catch those great in-flight moments that we as pilots are fortunate enough to experience."
Lasers aren't only used to play with cats anymore. It is scary but sometimes people deliberately entertain themselves by pointing high-powered lasers at aircraft. FAA says that since 2006 these cases are steadily increasing. The danger is that lasers are available to the general public, but luckily can only reach low flying aircraft.
It goes without saying that a pilot in the left-hand seat would be more useful in the event of the emergency!
Certainly, pilots have been letting strangers into the cockpit for many-many years. The peculiarity is that nowadays if you let a stranger in, it can go for public display within a second and pilot might lose his job.
In the last year 3 pilots got fired for letting strangers into the cockpit during the flight (and these are only highlighted cases). A Mexican pilot reportedly invited a famous singer and her friend to take pictures in the cockpit. She pretended to fly the plane while it was actually in the airborne. After her post went viral on the Instagram, the pilot was identified and fired.
Predominantly visits into the cockpit do not influence the flights, but still some do and are still used in the CRM as a reminder. For example, Aeroflot Flight 593 when a pilot let his 12 year old daughter and 16 year old son on the flight deck, leading to flight crash and death of 75 people.
It is hard to imagine how many employees have been fired during the last 10 years due to the reckless social media usage. And pilots aren't the exception to the rule. Quartz magazine did the research of pilots Instagram accounts to reveal how they violate the rules of safety. Taking stunning pictures, which, by the way, due to the unusual perspective receive a lot of 'hearts' and 'thumbs-up', might endanger flight. Moreover, there a lot of pictures taken during take offs and landings when rules require sterile cockpit. Pilot's taking selfie has been linked to at least one fatal crash which is a confirmation that landings and taking photos don't mix!
This is a short list that illustrates how usage of modern technologies may affect pilots work in a bad way. The good news is that mainly Internet Technologies have a positive influence on aviation, especially flight planning. And RocketRoute is a proof!