Analysis of Complexity Evolution Management and Human Performance Issues in Commercial Aircraft Automation Systems

Abstract

Autoflight systems in the current generation of aircraft have been implicated in several recent incidents and accidents. A contributory aspect to these incidents may be the manner in which aircraft transition between differing behaviours or “modes.” The current state of aircraft automation was investigated and the incremental development of the autoflight system was tracked through a set of aircraft to gain insight into how these systems developed. This process appears to have resulted in a system without a consistent global representation.