September 26, 2008 at 18:53Convenience problem as a cause of disaster
Everyone has heard the latest news about the crash of a passenger Boeing 737 in Perm on September 14. They say that the cause of the disaster could be the use on the liner of a non-standard flight and navigation device called “horizon”.
Let's understand the essence of the problem.
Instruments of the “horizon” type (1) can be of two types of indication:
- From the ground to the plane (2)
- From the plane to the ground (3)
It is obvious that it is quite difficult to reconstruct the consciousness to another type of device. In our case, the plane can turn left, instead of turning right. And in a critical situation, such a mistake can easily be made.
Let's understand the essence of the problem.
Instruments of the “horizon” type (1) can be of two types of indication:
- From the ground to the plane (2)
- From the plane to the ground (3)
It is obvious that it is quite difficult to reconstruct the consciousness to another type of device. In our case, the plane can turn left, instead of turning right. And in a critical situation, such a mistake can easily be made.