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Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

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Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#11

Post by adamm255 »

firebaze wrote: post #7
bombcar wrote: post #2

First question - how do we tie this to Boeing? (A joke, of course) Second, interesting to note planes don’t have deadman switches.

Easy: * No wheels fell off ( https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/united-... ) * No doors departed the plane ( https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/business/ntsb-boeing-alaska-d... ) * No anti-ice ignited the engines ( https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/faa-proposal-targets... ) * No gear failure ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39644341 ) * No unintended pitch-down ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wik…

Well rested now! Sounds like they may have needed extra time on the ground.

Sounds like ATC and a nearby plane was trying to get hold of them while they were napping. Wonder how this would have been handled in another part of the world. Unresponsive aircraft for 28 mins…

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#13

Post by jxcole »

HPsquared wrote: post #3
bombcar wrote: post #2

First question - how do we tie this to Boeing? (A joke, of course) Second, interesting to note planes don’t have deadman switches.

Unlike trains, there isn't one action that is basically always safe (stop the train). A dead man switch activating at the wrong time, could itself cause an accident.

Each pilot can have a button they must always press, if both are released loud tritones alarms and flashing will fill the cockpit, something no one can sleep to.

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#15

Post by zettabomb »

jxcole wrote: post #13
HPsquared wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike trains, there isn't one action that is basically always safe (stop the train). A dead man switch activating at the wrong time, could itself cause an accident.

Each pilot can have a button they must always press, if both are released loud tritones alarms and flashing will fill the cockpit, something no one can sleep to.

A proper deadman's switch can't just be a button - you could weight it down, or just fall asleep on top of it. Trains commonly use a pedal you have to hold down halfway. Not sure this is really the best idea though, as pilots typically need both hands (and usually feet) free to actually, you know, control the plane.

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#16

Post by ceejayoz »

zettabomb wrote: post #15
jxcole wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each pilot can have a button they must always press, if both are released loud tritones alarms and flashing will fill the cockpit, something no one can sleep to.

A proper deadman's switch can't just be a button - you could weight it down, or just fall asleep on top of it. Trains commonly use a pedal you have to hold down halfway. Not sure this is really the best idea though, as pilots typically need both hands (and usually feet) free to actually, you know, control the plane.

A button press could be required, though.

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#17

Post by schoen »

jxcole wrote: post #13
HPsquared wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike trains, there isn't one action that is basically always safe (stop the train). A dead man switch activating at the wrong time, could itself cause an accident.

Each pilot can have a button they must always press, if both are released loud tritones alarms and flashing will fill the cockpit, something no one can sleep to.

That's not impossible, but the pilots' limbs are already largely "spoken for" by other controls and tasks, so it would be a harsh tradeoff.

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#18

Post by zettabomb »

sand500 wrote: post #8
HPsquared wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike trains, there isn't one action that is basically always safe (stop the train). A dead man switch activating at the wrong time, could itself cause an accident.

Some planes can land themselves now: https://discover.garmin.com/en-US/autonomi/#autoland

Autopilot and autoland have been around for a while, but they still need to be set up by the pilot, only operate under certain conditions, and autoland in particular only works at some airports. This is probably not a solution, not for quite a while at least.

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#19

Post by SequoiaHope »

HPsquared wrote: post #3
bombcar wrote: post #2

First question - how do we tie this to Boeing? (A joke, of course) Second, interesting to note planes don’t have deadman switches.

Unlike trains, there isn't one action that is basically always safe (stop the train). A dead man switch activating at the wrong time, could itself cause an accident.

Simple, cut the engines. /s

Re: Both pilots of an A320 fell asleep in the cockpit for 28 minutes

#20

Post by readthenotes1 »

bombcar wrote: post #2

First question - how do we tie this to Boeing? (A joke, of course) Second, interesting to note planes don’t have deadman switches.

"how do we tie this to Boeing?"

One of the Boeing 737 Max safety features is that the pilots are so anxious flying it that they are too scared to fall asleep

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