Where Birds Don't Fly

Whenever an airworthy aircraft, with all mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, electronic, flight control and automation systems operating normally, wings level, or in a coordinated controlled bank and all crew members at their stations, but is at an altitude where the aircraft encounters ground level, it is called controlled flight into terrain. If all systems are operating normally and within set parameters, there is no possible opportunity for an airplane to crash. Any unscheduled event that leads to an airplane crash is the result of one or more system failures. All systems are operational without elimination of any required for flight.  Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) exists only in a virtual world of perfectionism. CFIT definition of airplane accidents is removing a system from total flight operational systems required to complete the flight, which is the Human Performance System. As early as the late 50’s Human Performance System analysis were in a beginning stage and inc...

After severe accidents involving major air carriers, new technology and automation were developed and implemented into aircraft systems to make flying safer for the public. All these safety improvements to safety came at the ultimate price, but were justified for future safety improvement and for accidents never to happen again.  Over years there have been midair collisions, controlled flights into terrain and airplanes on approach to occupied runways. Loss of situational awareness was assigned as root causes for several of these accidents. With loss of situational awareness as the determining point of failure, the solutions became to help pilots to always know where they were by installing more automated systems. Without a clear definition and collected data about loss of situational awareness, the cause of accident was assigned to pilot error as the last link in the chain of events leading up to these catastrophic accidents.   Situational awareness is more than geographical ...