[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” background_image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/title-pic.jpg” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_css_main_element=”height: 100vh;”][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” header_fullscreen=”off” header_scroll_down=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” content_orientation=”center” image_orientation=”center” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_letter_spacing=”0″ button_one_use_icon=”default” button_one_icon_placement=”right” button_one_on_hover=”on” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ custom_button_two=”off” button_two_letter_spacing=”0″ button_two_use_icon=”default” button_two_icon_placement=”right” button_two_on_hover=”on” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ title=”Eye on the sky” subhead=”The past few years have been the safest in aviation history but researchers are working to ensure that the individuals making decisions in the cockpit are ready for anything. ” title_font_color=”#ffffff” subhead_font_color=”#ffffff” content_font_color=”#ffffff” title_font_size=”72px” subhead_font_size=”24px”]<\/p>\n
By Caroline O’Neill, Catrina Smyth, Christine Vezarov<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”By midafternoon, – according to the World Bank.” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off||” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n By mid-afternoon, the January skyline was speckled with a few clouds, giving a clear view of New York City\u2019s Hudson River.<\/p>\n At 3,000 feet up in the air, the cockpit\u2019s view of the blue sky was suddenly blocked by a flock of Canadian geese. Loud bangs pierced the cabin, flames engulfed the engine and the scent of fuel filled the plane. As both engines shut down, Captain Chesley \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger pulled off an emergency landing that saved the lives of every passenger and crewmember aboard his plane.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 100 per cent successfully ditched his aircraft because he practiced it a thousand times in a flight simulator,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. John Hayes, a co-creator of Carleton University\u2019s Atlas flight\u00a0simulator, that trains pilots to react to different emergencies and conditions they could experience during a flight. Dubbed the \u201cmiracle-on-the-Hudson,\u201d scientists like Hayes find nothing miraculous in Sully\u2019s emergency landing. Brave and life\u2013saving? Yes. But more importantly, the result of training and preparation that aim to make these kinds of reactions the norm.<\/p>\n Hayes is among the experts who rely\u00a0on data like those in the Aviation Safety Network\u2019s annual report, a worldwide collection of the crashes and causes by\u00a0year.<\/p>\n \u201cI used [this specific study] for a rationalization,\u201d says\u00a0Hayes\u00a0who\u00a0refers to\u00a0ASN’s data when applying for grants.<\/p>\n The data show that\u00a02016\u00a0was the runner-up for the safest year in commercial aviation, with only 19 crashes resulting\u00a0in 325 fatalities out of 3.5 billion travellers,. The top ten safest years all occurred in the second millennium, with 2015 awarded the gold medal, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”MAP”]<iframe src="https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1yhHDTZVtjERhwimPSuAuFRAcGwo" width="1400" height="600"><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text admin_label=”But to passengers – circular paths, Hayes said.” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n To passengers who essentially hand over their lives to the\u00a0pilot, plane and crew, such encouraging numbers don\u2019t always negate fear. The disaster scenarios are all too easy to imagine: An aircraft can hit a mountain. A weapon might mike it through security. A pilot may suddenly act irrationally, endangering everyone on a flight.<\/p>\n To better understand the reality behind the numbers, Catalyst<\/em> reporters spoke with professionals who are navigating the complex systems and the occasionally morbid realities that underly modern aviation.<\/p>\n Hayes\u2019 lab at Carleton University aims to replicate the exact conditions a pilot might experience in the worst case scenario.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, [pilots] crash many times in the flight simulator \u2013 but zero risk,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Unlike other platforms, which seat the cockpit on six height-changing legs, Hayes\u2019 flight simulator sits on “omni wheels” with castor rollers that individually swivel. This design\u00a0allows for a wider range\u00a0of angular displacements including those needed to simulate circular flight trajectories, Hayes says.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_slider admin_label=”Hayes Pics” show_arrows=”on” show_pagination=”on” auto=”off” auto_ignore_hover=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” remove_inner_shadow=”off” background_position=”default” background_size=”default” hide_content_on_mobile=”off” hide_cta_on_mobile=”off” show_image_video_mobile=”off” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″]<\/p>\n [et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/bballweb-2.jpg” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” admin_title=”Basketball”]<\/p>\n Hayes’s first attempt at rolling a sphere on omni wheels. Each omni wheel has smaller wheels around its edges. \u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” video_url=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/u1HjwFiWc_A” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” admin_title=”Prototype 1″]<\/p>\n The wheels on the edges of the omni wheels are set parallel to the bigger wheel’s\u00a0axis. [Video \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” admin_title=”Prototype 2″ text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” video_url=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/bL0q2raOs6A”]<\/p>\n The white dots on the sphere\u00a0connect to a\u00a0computer, which dictates the direction, speed, and frequency of the spin\u00a0of the omni wheels. [Video \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/sim-outside.jpg” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” admin_title=”Final Model” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on”]<\/p>\n John Hayes hopes that eventually his simulator will be able to exactly replicate a freefalling plane. [Photo \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” admin_title=”Inside of SIM” image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/inside-sim.jpg”]<\/p>\n A pilot would sit inside the simulator and handle the controls to correct whatever situation they experience. \u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” background_layout=”light” allow_player_pause=”off” admin_title=”Hayes Circle” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/hayes-in-sim.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hayes said that his simulator is the only one in the world of it’s kind. \u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Catrina Smyth][\/et_pb_slide]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_slider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Yearly reports – your job\u2014 your career.\u201d” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Yearly reports, like those provided by the ASN, show how regulatory bodies are doing their jobs to ensure that the mechanics, from radio towers to a plane\u2019s rivets and permanent fasteners, are properly monitored. Ensuring each individual component of the system is performing, like the inner workings of a clock, is no small feat. Even though each country navigates their systems differently, Hayes says that most mechanical failures are actually random.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are very nervous flying, and I used to be that myself before I started working at Aviation and learning a lot more about how aircrafts work and the standards that are in place,\u201d said Erin Greggory, the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum\u2019s assistant curator and a reformed white-knuckler during in-flight turbulence.<\/p>\n \u201cEach aircraft crash since the earliest days of commercial aviation has resulted in some sort of legislation or policy \u2026 that has improved the safety,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Looking back at history\u2019s skyline since the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903, Greggory says every plane crash due to a mechanical failure has provided sobering opportunities for improvement.<\/p>\n The system that entrusts regulatory agents around the world is not perfect, she notes. But scientists like Hayes are using technological advancements and lessons from aviation history to help plane safety keep soaring.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a pilot, your medical is everything,\u201d says Simon Garrett, a veteran flight instructor and examiner at the International Pilot School in Carp, Ontario. \u201cWhen you lose your medical, you lose your job\u2014 your career.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Pilots must complete routine, basic medical examinations to ensure they meet health standards. The tests are likened to head-to-toe check-ups. Legally, when a pilot goes to see a doctor, he or she is required to state that they hold a pilot\u2019s licence.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been times in my life where I\u2019ve been afraid to go to the doctor and say I\u2019ve got something wrong because I don\u2019t want to risk losing my medical,\u201d the pilot says, looking back at his 45 years of experience. \u201cI will not take any sort of drugs unless I\u2019m absolutely in agony. Not even an aspirin or Advil because I will not risk, in any way, shape or form, creating a dependency.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_testimonial admin_label=”risk losing my medical,\u201d” author=”Simon Garrett” url_new_window=”off” quote_icon=”on” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”\u201cThere have been times – create a dependency.\u201d” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”After every doctor\u2019s visit, – point A to point B,\u201d said Greggory.” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n After every doctor\u2019s visit, the appointment details, results and notes are filed to the pilot company\u2019s physician.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve got a doctor who\u2019s looking after, as they should, the best interests in aviation, and they have the slightest concern\u2014 they\u2019re going to say that you\u2019re not flying until you sort this out,\u201d says\u00a0Garrett, who has won multiple awards in pilot health and safety.<\/p>\n This is best-case scenario, however, it isn\u2019t a catch-all, he says.<\/p>\n The reality is that some health issues won\u2019t be flagged unless the individual comes forward about it. Mental health is one of these areas that, just like cognitive ability and skill level, isn\u2019t assessed as time goes on, Garrett says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know men, they\u2019re not going to admit anything until the very last minute,” he jokes. “If they think they\u2019ve got something quite serious, they\u2019re not going to go to their civil aviation medical doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n The system has cracks. While it is not easy to do so, it is possible for a pilot to manage to hold on to their\u00a0a licence to fly even after\u00a0failing a health health exam, Garrett says.<\/p>\n The Germanwings crash in 2014 shifted public discourse to the \u2018human factor’ \u2014 the people flying the plane.<\/p>\n It was known that the pilot, Andr\u00e9as Lubitz, had been treated for suicidal tendencies and had seen multiple doctors, Garrett said. But no action was taken. Three years later, the incident\u00a0continues to highlight\u00a0the need for\u00a0a more holistic approach to pilots\u2019 health.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are putting your trust in someone else to get you from point A to point B,\u201d says\u00a0Greggory.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”\u201cI tend to trust – health empirically.” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n \u201cI tend to trust the machine more than the people operating it.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall wellbeing can be just as hard to predict as an unforeseen mechanical failure.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can pass a medical today and tomorrow die of a heart attack,\u201d Garret said, highlighting the difficulty in measuring all aspects of health empirically.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_testimonial admin_label=”\u201cI tend to trust the machine” author=”Erin Greggory” url_new_window=”off” quote_icon=”on” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”It\u2019s not a single factor, – pilots\u2019 to be grounded unnecessarily.” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a single factor, such as age, that will necessarily determine the result of a standardized medical exam. Rather, a well-rounded examination is needed, Garrett says, one that assesses mental, cognitive, emotional and physical capacities.<\/p>\n And while this all-encompassing approach\u00a0might not be in place yet, researchers continue to make strides.<\/p>\n \u201cA pilot doesn\u2019t forget how to fly or where they\u2019re going, but they might forget to do something important in the future,\u201d says\u00a0Dr. Kathleen Van Benthem, a post-doctoral fellow at Carleton University\u2019s Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory.<\/p>\n Her research uses an old plane\u2019s cockpit and a moving screen to simulate a flight, examines cognitive responses in aging general pilots. One hundred pilots aged 19-81 from Eastern Ontario have flown in this simulator, with different conditions thrown their way.<\/p>\n Van Benthem collects data on regular cognition like processing or memory, as well as cognitive skills specific to aviation. One factor, for example, is prospective memory: the pilot\u2019s ability to remember things they should do in the future, like\u00a0making\u00a0radio call.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not believe that there is one age where people should stop flying,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to develop resources to keep people flying longer, but safer.\u201d<\/p>\n Planes continue to be the only transport method to take passengers through time zones in a little more than a day. The complex systems regulating how and when they are flown are not perfect, but researchers are looking for new ways to keep pilots prepared for any turbulent situations.<\/p>\n For Hayes, this means ensuring his one-of-a-kind simulator offers as many different iterations of a disaster as possible. A stall, when a plane doesn\u2019t have enough lift, can manifest itself in different ways, he explained. The Atlas Project\u00a0aims to allow pilots to experience free falling.<\/p>\n Creating a conversation around plane safety with the public is another way to talk about reports, tragedies and research. But it can often be risky territory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a touchy subject,\u201d says\u00a0Greggory. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to have a negative experience when they\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n The aviation museum did an exhibition called Safer Skies that analyzed\u00a0potential causes for crashes. Fear can be combatted by being factual, neutral and avoiding dramatics, Greggory says.<\/p>\n Van Benthem\u2019s approach to the future is to develop a cognitive health-screening tool that is unbiased against age. There is a time for individuals to stop flying, she acknowledges, but adds that she doesn\u2019t want pilots\u2019 to be grounded unnecessarily.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Infographic” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/17431730_1825211017801547_740839107_o.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Another look-ahead” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Another look-ahead for pilot training might include virtual reality goggles, which are more accessible and cost-effective than flight simulators, Van Benthem said. In augmented realities, a pilot\u2019s senses are engaged to feel factors like turbulence, an altitude stall or hearing a radio call. Van Benthem foresees both virtual and augmented realities as ways to keep pilots in controlled, safe zones that are as near to true conditions as possible.<\/p>\n As 2015 and 2016 sit side-by-side as the safest years in aviation history, the next years could easily plummet or take flight to recent innovations.<\/p>\n Just as random acts can change an entire flight\u2019s course, life\u2019s circumstances might also be the reason many people will need to fly,\u00a0whether they want to or not.<\/p>\n Van Benthem remains optimistic about flight safety in 2017 and beyond, and\u00a0offers some advice for the worried:<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be scared to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” background_image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/title-pic.jpg” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_css_main_element=”height: 100vh;”][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” header_fullscreen=”off” header_scroll_down=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” content_orientation=”center” image_orientation=”center” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_letter_spacing=”0″ button_one_use_icon=”default” button_one_icon_placement=”right” button_one_on_hover=”on” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ custom_button_two=”off” button_two_letter_spacing=”0″ button_two_use_icon=”default” button_two_icon_placement=”right” button_two_on_hover=”on” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ title=”Eye on the sky” subhead=”The past few years have been the safest in aviation history but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[135],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-133","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nPreparing for the unpredictable<\/h3>\n
Fit to fly? The human factor<\/h3>\n
\u201cThere have been times in my life where I\u2019ve been afraid to go to the doctor and say I\u2019ve got something wrong because I don\u2019t want to risk losing my medical.\u201d<\/h3>\n
\u201cI tend to trust the machine more than the people operating it.\u201d<\/h3>\n
Flying into a safer future<\/h3>\n