| Details | | Publication Date: | 1994-04-30 |
| Size | | Length: | 237 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 20.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
Most airplane accidents are attributed to pilot error, but why does the pilot err? In The Pilot's Burden, Captain Robert N. Buck argues that the airline pilot's work load has become so high-tech and air traffic control-dominated that mistakes are inevitable. Drawing on extensive firsthand experience, Buck traces the evolution of the required skills and increased responsibilities of pilots from the early days of the open cockpit biplanes flying in uncontrolled skies to the latest computerized aircraft flying in the jam-packed, controlled skies of today. In the process, Buck recounts aviation history to show how increasing technology has affected pilots. He covers the effects of aircraft development and unfriendly aircraft design, the constant growth of FAA rules, the complexity and pressures of the air traffic control system, and computers in airplanes. In response to the growing demands these place on pilots, psychologists and cockpit resource management have begun to teach pilots how to work as a team and how to better cope with the complex tasks and pressures as well as the physical burden of mixed schedules and lost sleep. Although written from an airline perspective, many of the problems and burdens apply as well to general aviation and military pilots. Student pilots will benefit from the revelation of what the real flying world is like and what it may require of them. In The Pilot's Burden, Buck praises aviation's excellent safety records but warns that little has been done to reduce the demanding expectations of pilots and the pressures placed on them - in fact the pressures have grown. To avert, or at least lessen, the potential for catastrophe, a serious effort must be made tosimplify and reduce the pilot's burden.
| See an error? Submit a change request |
All rights reserved.
