Story ID: 
AINsight: Deadly Distractions on the Flight Deck
By: Stuart “Kipp” Lau
Caption: It's a myth that humans can multitask, warns the NTSB
Word Count: 911
In 2021, a 23-year-old pilot flying on a low-level pipeline patrol was killed seconds after his aircraft hit the guy wire of a radio tower. Upon striking the wire, the left wing of the Cessna 182 was sheared off, sending the aircraft tumbling onto the ground, where it then burst into flames. In its final report on the fatal crash, the NTSB noted that, 35 seconds before hitting the guy wire, the pilot made a post on social media app Snapchat. That was his final post.
According to the accident report, “Based on known information, it is likely the pilot was distracted while using his mobile device in the minutes before the accident and did not maintain adequate lookout to ensure a safe flight path to avoid the radio tower and its guy wires. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's unnecessary use of his mobile device during the flight, which diminished his attention/monitoring of the airplane’s flight path.” 
The NTSB has long led a charge to eliminate distractions in aviation and other forms of transportation. “Distraction is a growing life-threatening problem in all modes of transportation,” said the NTSB. The Safety Board has identified the proliferation of personal electronic devices, such as cellphones and tablets, as a serious problem. The agency added, “We know that a loss of situational awareness in the air and on the ground can have potentially catastrophic results.”
Sadly, these accidents are preventable. In 2017, the pilot of a Bell 206L3 was killed when the helicopter slammed into ranchland near Ancho, New Mexico. Shortly before the accident, the 8,800-hour pilot had called a rental car agency to make a reservation.
During a subsequent interview with the rental car agent, she “remembered the call well, and knew the pilot, because he often rented a car from the agency.” The agent added that, on the day of the accident, she could not tell that he was in a helicopter but said he seemed “busy and distracted.” She said that later in the call, “In mid-sentence, the line was disconnected.”
The NTSB report concluded that the probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s distraction by his cellphone during low-altitude flight.
According to the Safety Board, “Pilots involved in general aviation operations are more susceptible to distraction-related accidents because there are no federal regulations, such as the ‘sterile cockpit’ rules seen in commercial [Part 121 airline] operations.”
Furthermore, the NTSB believes personal-use and recreational aircraft are at a greater risk since they are not subject to corporate safety policies that address the use of personal electronic devices.
This was the case in 2014, when the pilot of a Cessna 150 lost control of his aircraft near Denver. Before the crash, the pilot was taking selfie pictures with his cellphone. In a report, the NTSB said, “Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction due to his cellphone use while maneuvering at low altitude.”
The NTSB would like the FAA to ban the use of nonoperational personal electronic devices in Part 135- and Part 91-operated aircraft.
Findings of a 2011 fatal crash of an air ambulance helicopter point to the need to address distraction in all aircraft types. In that accident, an Airbus H125 ran out of fuel and crashed, killing the pilot, two medical crewmembers, and the patient. Among the contributing factors, the Board concluded, was “the pilot's distracted attention due to personal texting during safety-critical ground and flight operations.”
Distractions are a serious public safety issue that indiscriminately kill people on the road and in the air. Distracted driving, as an example, is widespread: it kills thousands and injures hundreds of thousands each year in the U.S. Studies suggest that distracted driving is four times more dangerous than operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.   
Contributing to the problem, according to the NTSB, “is the widespread belief by many that they can multitask and still operate a vehicle safely. But multitasking is a myth—humans can only focus cognitive attention on one task at a time.”
The Board determined that “the consequences of visual, manual, cognitive, and auditory distractions can be seen in all modes of transportation. In commercial operations, all safety-critical personnel must commit to minimizing distractions, and companies have a corporate responsibility to develop policies to reduce distractions.”
It concluded by saying, “A cultural change is needed for all aviation personnel to understand that their safety and the safety of others depends on disconnecting from deadly distractions.”
Five years ago, I wrote my first blog that focused on distractions. Unfortunately, the problem has not improved. Irresponsible individuals are consumed with the use of personal electronic devices while operating vehicles—they cannot help themselves and do not understand the deadly consequences.
In that blog, I suggested, “Individuals must also take some responsibility in eliminating the distractions from the use of personal electronic devices. One concept is to establish a ‘gate’ for entering the ‘no phone zone.’” I also issued a challenge “to educate those who are unaware of the dangers, feel invincible, or just simply do not have a clue (on the dangers of using personal electronic devices).”
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.