Chris Woodyard | USA TODAY

Buzz60

Automation has made planes safer and more efficient, but the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max jets lead some to wonder if there is a dangerous flip side.

Though advanced autopilots and computers are an integral part of any modern jetliner, many pilots worry that the systems detract from developing and maintaining their own abilities.

"We’ve been talking about this in the industry for years. Pilots are losing their basic flying skills, and there’s an overreliance on automation," Les Westbrooks, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said after the latest 737 Max crash, an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March.

A Lion Air flight crashed into the Java Sea five months earlier. The two accidents killed a total of 346 passengers and crew. Boeing is redesigning a computerized system in the jet, but questions are being raised about pilot actions as well.

AP

Appearing before a House subcommittee this month, FAA acting Administrator Daniel Elwell expressed concern that pilots in both jets apparently made mistakes in trying to deal with the emergencies.

He said he was disturbed that, based on the flight data recorders, it appeared that pilots didn't properly deal with a stabilizer trim problem early despite the issues with Boeing's faulty onboard computer system.

"You don't pull out a checklist. You memorize it, and you are tested on it all the time," said Elwell, who was an American Airlines pilot for 16 years.

In the case of the Boeing 737 Max, a computerized system was installed to compensate for the jet's tendency to point its nose upward because of heavier engines that were placed farther forward on the wings. It was called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). In the case of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, pilots wrestled to keep the jetliners aloft as the MCAS repeatedly switched on and pointed the nose toward the ground.

The link to one of the 737 Max's automated systems raises "concerns about pilots' abilities to recognize and react to unexpected events," Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel wrote in prepared remarks for the subcommittee hearing.

As for the MCAS, training in it may become more common as more 737 Max simulators are rolled out. There are 17 simulators for the 737 variant globally, Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said. "We expect the number of Max simulators to more than double by year’s end," he said in an email.

View | 23 Photos

Boeing's new 737 MAX makes its maiden flight

It wasn't just the two Boeing 737 Max crashes in which trouble with automation played a role. An Asiana Airlines airliner crashed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport in 2013 because, an investigation found, the pilots didn't thoroughly understand how the plane's automated systems worked.

Experts said automation has helped to make aviation one of the safest means of transportation. Because of advanced autopilot systems, aircraft save fuel by flying in an optimal way. They can be landed in fog, a boon to travelers who no longer are diverted to other airports. The systems are so advanced that they can counteract bad judgments by pilots. Automated systems are switched on for about 90% of a typical airline trip, according to government estimates.

Those same experts said pilots must not be simply monitors of a plane's automated systems but have the ability to step in with hands-on flying. Though all pilots must pass qualification exams for every type of plane they fly, the fear is they'll forget skills when they need them the most.

"Airlines don't teach pilots to fly. They teach procedures. Your basic core skills should be there before you get to the airline," said Bo Corby, director of standards and training for Future & Active Pilot Advisors, or FAPA, a career and financial advisory service.

He said the focus for training many pilots is to teach them how to use the automated systems, de-emphasizing basic flying skills. He said the time has come to revert to a system in which knowledge of core techniques becomes critical again.

Veteran airline pilot John Cox said it's clear that automation overall has made flying safer. The key is not to have an overdependency on it – "to be comfortable and capable of being able to fly the plane manually. That has been an industry challenge," he said.

Cox said there's more to the Ethiopian Airlines crash than an automation issue. The pilots were confronted with a load of warnings in the cockpit, more than anyone could be reasonably expected handle, he said.

"You hit a point called task saturation. You are taking in more information than you can process," Cox said. Amid all those distractions, a person's cognitive ability to deal with them can drop by half.

"Automation dependence is not a cause, but it is a contributor" to the disaster, he said.