Methods for Preventing the Degradation of Manual Flying Skills in an Automated Cockpit Environment
Main Article Content
Abstract
Modern commercial aviation increasingly relies on advanced automation, which helps to reduce pilot workload and improves overall flight safety. However, the growing reliance on automation has reduced pilots’ opportunities for manual flying practice, leading to a degradation of those skills. This article analyzes recent data on Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) cases and human factors, highlighting that insufficient manual flying experience has been a contributing factor in several incidents and accidents. An original methodology is proposed to maintain and improve airline pilots’ manual flying skills through balanced automation use, regular manual flying exercises in training sessions, and during line operations under safe conditions. The Results section provides a detailed structure of the training program including Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT), exercise examples, and mathematical models of skill degradation. The Discussion compares the proposed approach with leading aviation organizations (ICAO, FAA, EASA, IATA, Airbus, Boeing), highlighting implementation strategies and potential outcomes. The findings confirm the need to revise simulator and line training programs for pilots with a greater focus on manual flying skills, which will help prevent further competency erosion and reduce LOC-I accident risk.
Article Details
References
Airbus. (2020, March 24). Manual flying policy (Flight operations briefing). Airbus Flight Safety. https://flightsafety.airbus.com/2020/03/24/manual-flying-policy/
Airbus. (2025). A statistical analysis of commercial aviation accidents 1958–2024. Toulouse: Airbus S.A.S. https://accidentstats.airbus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20241325_A-Statistical-analysis-of-commercial-aviation-accidents-2025-links.pdf
Ayiei, A. (2020). Visual flight into instrument meteorological condition. Safety, 6(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety6020019
Bainbridge, L. (1983). Ironies of automation. Automatica, 19(6), 775-779. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-1098(83)90046-8
Boeing Commercial Airplanes. (2025). Statistical summary of commercial jet airplane accidents, 1959–2024. Seattle. WA. https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/boeing/boeingdotcom/company/about_bca/pdf/statsum.pdf
Boyd, D. D. (2017). A review of general aviation safety (1984–2017). Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 88(7), 657–664. https://doi.org/10.3357/AMHP.4862.2017
Casner, S., Geven, R., Recker, M., & Schooler, J. (2014). The retention of manual flying skills in the automated cockpit. Human Factors, 56(8), 1506–1516. https://labs.psych.ucsb.edu/schooler/jonathan/sites/labs.psych.ucsb.edu.schooler.jonathan/files/pubs/the_retention_of_manual_flying_skills_in_the_automated_cockpit.pdf
Causse, M., Peysakhovich, V., Fabre, E., & Pastor, J. (2024). Impact of automation level on airline pilots’ flying performance and visual scanning strategies: A full flight simulator study. Applied Ergonomics, 125, 104456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2024.104456
Dehais, F., Causse, M., Vachon, F., & Tremblay, S. (2012). Cognitive conflict in human-automation interactions: A psychophysiological study. Applied Ergonomics, 43(3), 588-595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2011.09.004
Ebbatson, M., Harris, D., Huddlestone, J., & Sears, R. (2010). The relationship between manual handling performance and recent flying experience in air transport pilots. Ergonomics, 53(2), 268-277. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130903342349
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363-406. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363
European Aviation Safety Agency. (2019). Acceptable means of compliance and guidance material to Part-FCL (Issue 2, Amendment 10). Cologne, Germany. https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/acceptable-means-of-compliance-and-guidance-materials
Federal Aviation Administration. (2013). Safety alert for operators (SAFO) 13002: Manual flight operations. Washington, DC. https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/SAFO13002.pdf
Federal Aviation Administration. (2017). Safety alert for operators (SAFO) 17007: Manual flight operations proficiency. Washington, DC. https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-11/SAFO17007.pdf
Federal Aviation Administration. (2017). Advisory circular AC 120-111: Upset prevention and recovery training. Washington, DC. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/1027328
Federal Aviation Administration. (2022, November 21). Advisory circular AC 120-123: Flightpath management. Washington, DC. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/1041433
Gibb, R., Ercoline, B., & Scharff, L. (2011). Spatial disorientation: Decades of pilot fatalities. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 82(7), 717-724. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51485464_Spatial_Disorientation_Decades_of_Pilot_Fatalities
International Air Transport Association. (2020). Aircraft handling and manual flying skills survey report. Montreal, Canada. https://www.iata.org/contentassets/d0e499e4b2824d4d867a8e07800b14bd/iata-report-aircraft-handling-manual-flying-skills.pdf
International Air Transport Association, International Civil Aviation Organization, & International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (2024). Evidence-based training implementation guide (2nd ed.). https://www.iata.org/contentassets/c0f61fc821dc4f62bb6441d7abedb076/ebt-implementation-guide.pdf
International Civil Aviation Organization. (2019). Pilot training improvements to address automation dependency (Working Paper A40-WP/296). 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly, Montreal, Canada. https://www2023.icao.int/Meetings/a40/Documents/WP/wp_296_en.pdf
Koglbauer, I. V. (2016). Simulator training improves pilots’ procedural memory and generalization of behavior in critical flight situations. Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 20(4), 357–366. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312173784_Simulator_training_improves_pilots'_procedural_memory_and_generalization_of_behavior_in_critical_flight_situations
Landman, A., Groen, E. L., van Paassen, M. M., Bronkhorst, A. W., & Mulder, M. (2017). Dealing with unexpected events on the flight deck: A conceptual model of startle and surprise. Human Factors, 59(8), 1161-1172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720817723428
Myers, P. L. III, Starr, A. W., & Mullins, K. (2018). Flight simulator fidelity, training transfer, and the role of instructors. The International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 5(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2018.1203
Prophet, W. W. (1976). Long-term retention of flying skills: A review of the literature (Final Report HumRRO-FR-WD-CA-76-6). Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Research Organization. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA036077.pdf
Schutte, P. C., & Trujillo, A. C. (1996). Flight crew task management in non-normal situations. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 244-248). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/154193129604000422?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Trabysh, V. H., Keebler, J. R., & Winter, S. R. (2024). Development and validation of a General Aviation Risk Perception Scale. Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors, 14(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1027/2192-0923/a000265