A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 225; Flight Crew Total 25000; Flight Crew Type 3000
Training / Qualification; Time Pressure; Human-Machine Interface; Confusion; Troubleshooting; Workload
Other Unwanted Situation
Company Policy; Human Factors; Manuals
During my 48 years of flying; 36 as an airline pilot; I have witnessed major improvements in equipment and technology. Most were fully tested and vetted prior to their introduction onto the flight decks of our passenger aircraft. The latest such technology is the I-pad. My comments need to be prefaced by stating that computers are a revolutionary technology with which I am very comfortable and in the use of which I am extremely well versed. That being said; the rush to put the I-pad into full use aboard our airline's aircraft--WITHOUT BACKUP PAPER MANUALS BEING ON BOARD--is an extremely poor decision and could lead to unintended outcomes. There must be more testing; training and evaluation prior to their full implementation without paper backups being on board. There needs to be several training and checking cycles during which the electronic pad is used as the primary information and reference source. Data from these events should be collected; evaluated and codified to determine the practicality and desirability of full implementation without such redundancy. The collected data needs to be compared against a base line established from training and checking sessions using the existing paper manuals. This is the only means to determine the feasibility and safety of full implementation. The comparative data collected must be the evaluations of line pilots only; and not skewed by the inclusion of data related to line check airmen; pilot instructors or standards Captains. These individuals are highly trained in the use of the I-pad and their jobs require daily usage. This is not the case with the average line airman. I strongly urge our managers to abstain from their 'RUSH TO JUDGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION' of the I-pad without far more training and evaluation. An aircraft accident or incident related to the early implementation without proper training and evaluation would be difficult to justify.
An A320 Captain discussed his concerns with respect to his airline's; in his opinion; rush to implement the availability of aircraft operational content solely by 'pad type' hand held electronic devices. He believes their use as the sole on board procedural resource should be proceeded by extensive testing and evaluation of the average line pilots' facility in its use.