Energy Safety Management: Mitigating Loss of Control Inflight

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Under the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated for the first time that private and commercial pilot candidates demonstrate understanding of energy management in several areas of operation. Recognition by the FAA of the importance of energy management is a welcome development, given the potential lethal consequences of mishandling the airplane’s energy state. Poor management of the energy associated with vertical flight path and/or airspeed is a significant factor in loss of control in flight and runway excursions during landing, two leading causes of fatal accidents in aviation. While most pilots are familiar with altitude-airspeed exchange, they are largely unaware of the energy principles, control rules, and error management skills for safely and effectively handling the airplane’s energy state—total energy and its distribution over altitude and airspeed. Responding to this training gap and guided by physics principles successfully applied in other disciplines, energy safety management­ (ESM) is proposed as a best practice for mitigating inflight “energy crises”. Success in reducing loss of control and other energy management related accidents will most likely come from equipping pilots with piloting knowledge, tools, and skills to confront the root causes of the problem. Thus, ESM principles are guiding the creation of an energy management curriculum and training tool that will meet and exceed ACS standards as related to energy management training. In addition to enhancing safety, ESM is expected to improve training efficiency by making it easier for new pilots to master flight path and airspeed control.

Author

• Merkt, Juan Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• aircraft energy management
• loss of control
• runway excursions
• Science and Technology Studies