January/February 2023 - 34

F O R T H E R EC O R D
Electronic Recordkeeping -
It's a Safety Issue
FOUNDATION FOR
BUSINESS AIRCRAFT
RECORDS EXCELLENCE
In our world of business aircraft operations, the misuse or misinterpretation of
data often results in catastrophic error. Below are a few examples:
1) Crash of the Air Florida B737 into the Potomac
River in 1982, killing 78 people.
The crew, unfamiliar with snowy/icy ground conditions,
elected not to turn on the engine anti-icing
system before take-off, leading to erroneous readings
by both engine EPR indicators. The data, as seen by
the crew, indicated that there was enough power to
achieve positive flight. There was not.
2) Crash of Lion Air B737 MAX 8 into the Java
Sea in 2018, killing 189 people.
A failed AOA probe led the Maneuvering
Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to
believe the aircraft was in an impending stall condition
during climb-out. Utilizing the autopilot, it
pulled the nose of the aircraft down to avoid the stall.
The crew's non-understanding of the events as they
unfolded resulted in the aircraft diving to the ground.
3) Crash of Air France A330 into the Atlantic
Ocean in 2009, killing 228 people.
Inconsistencies in the data between airspeed measurements
caused the autopilot to disconnect.
Unfortunately, the crew misinterpreted this same
data, causing the aircraft to enter an aerodynamic
stall from which it did not recover.
In each of these examples, data coming from critiaviation,
to come to the same common thought process:
Computers do a much better job at improving
safety, speed and accuracy, far beyond what can be
done using human analysis.
Recording an Aircraft's History
Unlike our modern aircraft equipped with such
things as Flight Control Computers, Glass Cockpits
and Fly-by-Wire Systems relying on electronic data,
information critical to understanding the aircraft's
history and airworthiness requirements are still reliant
on human analysis using paper as the medium.
What this means to business aviation, and aviation
By Larry Hinebaugh
Larry Hinebaugh
is the executive
director of the nonprofit
company
The Foundation for
Business Aircraft
Records Excellence. He
is a 40-year veteran of
the Business Aviation
Industry.
cal components of the aircraft became compromised,
leading the aircraft to behave in an improper manner.
Unfortunately, this same information also led the crew
to take inappropriate actions, with disastrous results.
However, data when used properly always serves
to increase safety. Below are a few examples of this:
1) Flight Control Computers
As more is demanded of aircraft, we continue to
push the envelope in which the aircraft flies. This
tends to make these complex aircraft inherently
unstable, even in normal flight. Consequently, we rely
on sophisticated computers to enable correct flight.
2) Glass Cockpits
Modern aircraft typically feature glass cockpits with
computer-controlled monitors displaying data, in
easily understood imageries; freeing the flight crew
to focus on more urgent details.
34 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
as a whole, is this: We are not taking advantage of
digital technology when using and preserving critical
aircraft records and airworthiness information.
Instead, we rely purely on people and paper records
to best utilize the information, resulting in the same
scenarios as in the examples above - disastrous.
Moving from our world of paper for recording vital
statistics of airworthiness, to modern digital technology,
will have the same effect in the aircraft world as
it has in so many other industries: enhancing speed,
accuracy and productivity. It will also have the effect
of increasing what we most value in aviation: safety.
So, what do we say about an industry that creates
and operates aircraft that fly faster, travel further
and operate more efficiently than ever before, yet still
conducts business using paper records? It's unacceptable!
And if safety is our number one concern,
like we say it is, we'll change. It's that simple.
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
3) Fly-by-Wire Systems
Fly-by-wire technology translates the pilot's actions
into electronic signals which computers use to
manipulate flight controls. Computers constantly
monitor pilot input and prevent the aircraft from
exceeding its flight envelope.
When we take the opportunity to use the data
readily available to us, we take advantage of the many
attributes digital technology has to offer. But when
humans use the same data points, we don't always
arrive at the same conclusions.
This has led many different industries, not just
January/February 2023

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