Flight simulators are used to train the nation’s airline pilots, but flaws in simulator training may have contributed to some of the worst airline accidents and more than half of crash fatalities in the past 10 years. According to a USA Today analysis, records from the National Transportation Safety Board show that, in rare cases, simulators can lead pilots into habits that produce dangerous mistakes.
In July, the NTSB pointed to deficient simulator training as a factor in the 2008 crash of a Continental Airlines jet in Denver. The plane skidded off a runway when the pilot could not steer while trying to take off in gusty winds. The link to simulators: many of them make these takeoffs seem much easier than they really are, and the airline was never informed of the problem.
Since the 1990s, the NTSB has repeatedly warned about the potential for simulators to give pilots a false sense of how their aircraft functions. Earlier this year, the NTSB urged federal regulators to improve the machines to teach pilots how to regain control in an emergency.
Simulator training, which has been used since the 1970s to train pilots on the ground, has been cited as a factor in some of the worst air disasters in the last decade, including the 2001 crash of an American Airlines jet that killed 265 people, and the February, 2009 crash of a Colgan Airlines commuter plane that killed 50 near Buffalo, N.Y.
American airlines altered its training after the 2001 accident, and says it constantly adapts its safety training. Continental told USA today that it plans “change our training programs as recommended,” while Colgan said it follows federal regulations.
