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Modern planes becoming "too complex to fly," Trump tweets


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2019 Mar 12, 8:40am   4,078 views  26 comments

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"Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly," the president tweeted. "Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are...needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain.

I don't know about you, but I don't want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!"

It's unclear what evidence the president is citing to apparently connect additional technology and danger. The cause of the latest crash has not been determined. Boeing claims this incident and a crash of a similar design five months ago are unrelated incidents. Eight Americans were on board the downed Ethiopian Airlines plane this weekend.

Last year, Mr, Trump appeared to take some credit for zero commercial jet deaths in 2017.

"Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!" Mr. Trump tweeted in January 2018."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/modern-planes-becoming-too-complex-to-fly-trump-tweets/

Trump's suggested replacement for something simpler and easier to fly shown below - now someone just has to show him how to make it work



From the same Stable Genius that said Trade Wars Are Easy to Win, Was Going to Balance the Budget in 8 Years, Knows More Than the Generals etc.

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1   anonymous   2019 Mar 12, 3:35pm  

Trump Complains About Overly Complicated Controls Needed To Operate Modern-Day Doors

Insisting that the technology was far too complex and required significant scientific knowledge to use, President Donald Trump complained Tuesday about the overly complicated controls needed to operate modern-day doors.

“Doors these days are way too intricate and confusing for the average person to open or close,” said the president in a Twitter thread, insisting that door technology needed to go back to the old days when doors were simple and easy for everyone to use.

“The only Americans who know how to operate these complex doors are MIT engineers and rocket scientists, and regular people can’t go inside or outside anymore. There’s a million things to twist and turn and all these buttons, you push and push on them as hard as you can, and yet still half the time doors don’t even work.”

Trump added that the issue of door technology struck a personal chord for him, as many of the people who open doors for him are not very smart and often have trouble doing so.

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-complains-about-overly-complicated-controls-neede-1833235918
2   Bd6r   2019 Mar 12, 3:51pm  

There is some truth to what Trump says in OP. Nevertheless, 2nd post is funny as hell given what Trump said above
3   anonymous   2019 Mar 12, 3:54pm  

Their is yes, some truth however as in the case of the Asiana crash in San Francisco cultural factors were a bigger factor, same in Tenerife.

Boeing has not ever fully resolved the two crashes of the 737 involving the unexplained nose dives into the ground on approach in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
4   Goran_K   2019 Mar 12, 4:00pm  

I don't see anything wrong with what he said, he's telling the facts.

The problem is pilots are leaning far too much on computers to do the work. This is what caused the crash of Air France 447, pilot is pushing down on the stick to get speed, co-pilot is pulling on the stick to get altitude. Neither of them is communicating and find out that they're stalling badly 3,000 feet above the ocean, falling at 100 feet per second.

One of my best friends in life trained at the Malaysian Flying Academy (many of these pilots go on to work for Asiana, Korean Air, British Airways, etc) and he thinks the majority of airline pilots are more "computer operators and flight sim specialist" (his words), than actual pilots.
5   MrMagic   2019 Mar 12, 4:02pm  

Kakistocracy says
Trump tweets


Kakistocracy says
Trump


Kakistocracy says
Mr. Trump


Kakistocracy says
Trump's


Kakistocracy says
Trump Complains


Kakistocracy says
President Donald Trump


Kakistocracy says
Trump added


TDS..... It's real....
6   Bd6r   2019 Mar 12, 4:05pm  

Goran_K says
I don't see anything wrong with what he said, he's telling the facts.

The problem is pilots are leaning far too much on computers to do the work. This is what caused the crash of Air France 447, pilot is pushing down on the stick to get speed, co-pilot is pulling on the stick to get altitude. Neither of them is communicating and find out that they're stalling badly 3,000 feet above the ocean, falling at 100 feet per second.

One of my best friends in life trained at the Malaysian Flying Academy (many of these pilots go on to work for Asiana, Korean Air, British Airways, etc) and he thinks the majority of airline pilots are more "computer operators and flight sim specialist" (his words), than actual pilots.

Soon cars will be nearly completely automated, and this becomes scary - imagine what an intelligent terrorist can do after hacking system. Also, may be I am a Neanderthal, but I hate idea of giving nearly full control to automation, be it airplane or car.
7   FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut   2019 Mar 12, 4:35pm  

pilots don't fly planes, they just land them and take off. rest is auto pilot these days.
8   AD   2019 Mar 12, 5:38pm  

Yes, its called automatic controls in order to maintain flight stability (i.e., adequate lift, no excessive roll/yaw/pitch, etc.). I suspect there may have been over compensation that could have caused the Super 737 to lose lift.

The problem is this occurred during or right after take off so there is not enough margin or time for the pilots to react and correct for this.

I know the B-2 bomber essentially used computer assistance with flying because of its unique aerodynamic design. However, there was extensive flight testing of the B-2 before it became operational. I believe also the F 117 also was in the same circumstance as far as automated flight controls.
9   Booger   2019 Mar 12, 6:01pm  

I watch that air disaster TV show. It's awesome! Yes on several occasions yes overly complicated control schemes did cause the plane to crash.
10   anonymous   2019 Mar 13, 12:02am  

MrMagic says
Kakistocracy says
Trump tweets


Kakistocracy says
Trump


Kakistocracy says
Mr. Trump


Kakistocracy says
Trump's


Kakistocracy says
Trump Complains


Kakistocracy says
President Donald Trump


Kakistocracy says
Trump added


TDS..... It's real....


11   Expat01   2019 Mar 13, 10:11am  

A few things to note. First, Donald Trump is a self-avowed ignoramus. He is obviously stupid or at least intellectually challenged (based on comments by his friends and staff, thank you). He has refused to release his grades so I am guessing he was a worse student than GW (Proud to be a C Student) Bush. So, anything Trump says about anything more complicated than a spoon (he can't operate umbrellas either) is just more Trumpian bullshit.

Second, has anyone bothered to look up statistics on safety and accidents? There are fewer accidents and fewer fataliities despite rising numbers of flights. In 2017 there were no deaths from any large commercial accidents.

Obviously, it's much easier for Trumpturds to scream and rant and blame libtards, Muslims and intellectuals for all the woes of the world rather than educate themselves and learn facts. But it only proves that Trumpturds are far more dangerous than flying.
12   Richard Wicks   2019 Mar 13, 11:35am  

As somebody that has some knowledge of avionics, the irony here is that he's right.

None of you have seen the code base of a modern airplane control system have you? Airbus is famous for this. I wouldn't fly on one if I could avoid it.

Preliminary RUMORS with the Boeing 737 max is in the software that is meant to prevent a stall. In order to do this, the plane brings the nose down, and the pilots haven't been trained to anticipate this, so they pull up, and the plane tries to pull down, so the pilot tries to pull up - and eventually control is lost.

But, whatever. I do find it funny, however, that people think Trump just decided to come out and say this. Of course, this was written for him, and he just repeated it knowing he would be ridiculed when this is the current preliminary thinking of what is causing the crashes. Doesn't really matter.
13   HeadSet   2019 Mar 13, 2:51pm  

Preliminary RUMORS with the Boeing 737 max is in the software that is meant to prevent a stall. In order to do this, the plane brings the nose down, and the pilots haven't been trained to anticipate this, so they pull up, and the plane tries to pull down, so the pilot tries to pull up - and eventually control is lost.

In my old days of flying, from Cessnas and Pipers to the KC-135, approaching a stall set off a loud buzzer, and you could react accordingly. I find this rumor hard to believe, since it does not take much lowering of the nose to avoid a stall, especially with full thrust like on departure.

Airbus is famous for this. I wouldn't fly on one if I could avoid it.

If I remember right, the Airbus 300 series has a center of gravity right at the center of lift. This makes a plane too unstable to be flown without computer assist, but it makes for a more fuel efficient plane. Therefore, they made it strictly fly by wire.
14   anonymous   2019 Mar 14, 3:18am  

Richard Wicks says
pilots haven't been trained to anticipate this


Breakdowns in communication between the flight crew and also with ATC (too many fatal events over the decades), lack of and or insufficient training, gross inexperience (the co-pilot in the Ethiopian Crash was in the cockpit with 200 flight hours), shitty maintenance (Japan Airlines Flight 123), cultural norms...

The computer code is neither here nor there - it is still the human.

Companies are loathe to spend money on training, safety anything that does not produce an immediate return on the money spent unless forced and will then do it grudgingly and slowly

Code to run airplanes is complex, same for nuclear power plants, refineries, chemical plants, power plants and most anything else where optimization and max profits are the name of the game.

In all of the examples above the less human interaction the better, in so far as maximum efficiency and productivity is concerned.

When any of the above start to act up - a "capable" human is needed, not a check collector.
15   Expat01   2019 Mar 14, 3:19am  

Of course, this was written for him, and he just repeated it knowing he would be ridiculed when this is the current preliminary thinking of what is causing the crashes. Doesn't really matter.

So you are saying that there are professional speech writers working for Trump who are paid to come with the nonsense, insults and lies he spews daily? Basically, that means Trump is too stupid to even come up with stupid things to say without someone helping him?

Give me a break. More nine dimensional chess. When will you Trump apologists grow up? The man is stupid, corrupt and ignorant. Just because he has gotten away with it for so long doesn't make him a genius. And denigrating technology doesn't make him intelligent. Finally, Albert fucking Einstein could not fly a 737 even if he were alive.
16   Patrick   2019 Mar 14, 8:19am  

Expat01 says
When will you Trump apologists grow up?


@Expat01 Please try to understand the actual reasons Trump got elected:

* An extremely arrogant and corrupt elite which exported millions of jobs to China and imported millions of illegals to drive down wages yet further.
* Being told that men are women, women are men, and that we better not object if we don't want to get expelled or fired by the elite.
* Media which continuously discredits itself on behalf of that elite.
17   Expat01   2019 Mar 14, 8:39am  

@Patrick

I understand how and why Trump got elected. The country is run by the rich and the political elite. And I suppose I am asking too much of the average person to look beyond Trump's vapid slogans and at the man himself. His base has been so screwed over that they were and still are willing to bet it all on a fraud, a fraud which they cannot and will not see. The Republican party has disgraced itself in their unflinching support and sickening hypocrisy in the name of party unity. Does this mean I am pro-Hillary? Well, to a Trumpturd, yes, it does, but that is incorrect. Both candidates were appalling. I had hoped that Trump's election would wake up America and revamp both parties, but it seems that all he has done is reinforced his supporters' delusions and validated their underlying values which they now feel free to express: racism, xenophobia, militarism, willful ignorance and hatred of anyone and anything they don't understand.

As for the media, the Right has gleefully taken up the banner of Fake News (i.e., anything which Trump doesn't like or disagrees with) and claimed it as a purely Left crime. This is ignoring Fox and Breitbart and the other right-wing media. I try to watch and read across the spectrum. There are fringe left-wing media espousing hate, but you won't find calls for violence and hatred like you do in the mainstream rightwing media.

The same Trump supporters who rale against the Elite are now rabidly defending that same elite, as long as it is right wing. Imagine if the Mueller investigation were about Obama or Clinton. Trump supporters and the Republicans would have already started impeachment proceedings and called for outlawing of the Democrat party system (and, no, I am not exaggerating). Everyone hates the elite and the politicians except for THEIR guys. Look at Amazon and AOC. Trumpturds mocked and criticized the result of the cancelled investment in Brooklyn. Yet, they hate Bezos and complain about tax breaks for corporations. It's not hypocrisy; it's just ignorance, stupidity and bias. These same morons support massive tax breaks for their local football teams yet scream about the same tax breaks when they take place in "liberal" cities.

So, I do understand the reasons. And I am appalled.
18   NDrLoR   2019 Mar 14, 8:49am  

Goran_K says
Neither of them is communicating and find out that they're stalling badly 3,000 feet above the ocean, falling at 100 feet per second.
I watched one of the minute by minute documentaries about this crash and it gives you cold chills to think what is about to happen. The captain, who was asleep, comes into the cockpit completely unaware of what's going on and unable to do anything to avoid the disaster--the modern equivalent of Capt. E. J. Smith 100 years earlier.
19   Goran_K   2019 Mar 14, 9:02am  

P N Dr Lo R says
I watched one of the minute by minute documentaries about this crash and it gives you cold chills to think what is about to happen. The captain, who was asleep, comes into the cockpit completely unaware of what's going on and unable to do anything to avoid the disaster--the modern equivalent of Capt. E. J. Smith 100 years earlier.



Yeah, I have to admit, I had some bad dreams about Air France 447. I listened to the black box recording.

There's a point when the captain walks in (as you pointed out), and he finally figures out what is happening after about 1-2 minutes. By then he realizes it's far too late and says something like "Damn it, we're going to crash... This can't be happening!"

All because the co-captains were far too reliant on computers instead of relying on their instincts and skill.
20   anonymous   2019 Mar 14, 9:07am  

HeadSet says
he Airbus 300 series has a center of gravity right at the center of lift. This makes a plane too unstable to be flown without computer assist, but it makes for a more fuel efficient plane. Therefore, they made it strictly fly by wire.


Go to 6.4.4.1. Longitudinal, Lateral and Directional Controls - the center of gravity and other data is shown in a diagram for the Airbus 300 series

https://www.icao.int/safety/LOCI/AUPRTATablet/index.html

On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320-214 in New York's freezing Hudson River following a bird strike-induced loss of both engines. All 155 passengers and crew on board US Airways Flight 1549 survived.

Why is the center of mass of an aircraft always in front of the center of lift of the main wing?

Because, aircraft are designed to be inherently self-stabilizing. The idea being that if you just let go, controls fail, pilots are distracted, etc as many problems as possible should inherently correct themselves.

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-center-of-mass-of-an-aircraft-always-in-front-of-the-center-of-lift-of-the-main-wing

Since the original airplane Upset Recovery Training Aid was published, many positive advances with regard to upset training and to Threat and Error Management (TEM) have been made.

The premise of this revision is that an upset exists anytime an airplane is diverging from what the pilots are intending it to do. Prior training practices (i.e. "close your eyes while the instructor drives the simulator to an upset", etc.) missed the primary objective for pilots to intervene as soon as an undesired airplane state starts occurring. This was due to the fact that an upset was previously defined as exceeding fixed parameters (unintentional pitch beyond +25 or -10 degrees or bank angles greater than 45 degrees or speed inappropriate for the conditions). Most recovery maneuver training was done only after exceeding these parameters, without paying attention to the reasons of these diversions. Therefore, this document redefines airplane upsets and uses the established concept of undesired airplane state and the pilot's awareness of this regardless of airspeed or specific pitch and/or bank angle parameters. The name of the document has been modified to reflect the criticality of recognition and prevention. Therefore, the name is now Airplane Upset Prevention and Recovery Training Aid (AUPRTA).

https://www.icao.int/safety/loci/auprta/index.html
21   anonymous   2019 Mar 15, 4:50am  

An Artificial Intelligence Event?

Conventional wisdom is that it is too early to speculate why in the past six months two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes have gone down shortly after take off, so if all that follows is wrong you will know it very quickly. Last night I predicted that the first withdrawals of the plane would happen within two days, and this morning China withdrew it. So far, so good. (Indonesia followed a few hours ago).

Why should I stick my neck out with further predictions? First, because we must speculate the moment something goes wrong. It is natural, right and proper to note errors and try to correct them.(The authorities are always against “wild” speculation, and I would be in agreement with that if they had an a prior definition of wildness). Second, because putting forward hypotheses may help others test them (if they are not already doing so). Third, because if the hypotheses turn out to be wrong, it will indicate an error in reasoning, and will be an example worth studying in psychology, so often dourly drawn to human fallibility. Charmingly, an error in my reasoning might even illuminate an error that a pilot might make, if poorly trained, sleep-deprived and inattentive.

I think the problem is that the Boeing anti-stall patch MCAS is poorly configured for pilot use: it is not intuitive, and opaque in its consequences.

By the way of full disclosure, I have held my opinion since the first Lion Air crash in October, and ran it past a test pilot who, while not responsible for a single word here, did not argue against it. He suggested that MCAS characteristics should have been in a special directive and drawn to the attention of pilots.

I am normally a fan of Boeing. I have flown Boeing more than any other plane, and that might make me loyal to the brand. Even more powerfully, I thought they were correct to carry on with the joystick yoke, and that AirBus was wrong to drop it, simply because the position of the joystick is something visible to pilot and co-pilot, whereas the Airbus side stick does not show you at a glance how high the nose of the plane is pointing.

http://www.unz.com/jthompson/fear-of-flying-and-safety-of-gruyere/

Pilots are bright people, but they must never be set a badly configured test item with tight time limits and potentially fatal outcomes.

The Air France 447 crash had several ingredients, but one was that the pilots of the Airbus A330-203 took too long to work out they were in a stall. In fact, that realization only hit them very shortly before they hit the ocean. Whatever the limitations of the crew (sleep deprived captain, uncertain co-pilot) they were blinded by a frozen Pitot air speed indicator, and an inability to set the right angle of attack for their airspeed.

For the industry, the first step was to fit better air speed indicators which were less likely to ice up. However, it was clear that better stall warning and protection was required.

Boeing had a problem with fitting larger and heavier engines to their tried and trusted 737 configuration, meaning that the engines had to be higher on the wing and a little forwards, and that made the 737 Max have different performance characteristics, which in turn led to the need for an anti-stall patch to be put into the control systems.

It is said that generals always fight the last war. Safety officials correct the last problem, as they must. However, sometimes a safety system has unintended consequences.

The key of the matter is that pilots fly normal 737s every day, and have internalized a mental model of how that plane operates. Pilots probably actually read manuals, and safety directives, and practice for rare events. However, I bet that what they know best is how a plane actually operates most of the time. (I am adjusting to a new car, same manufacturer and model as the last one, but the 9 years of habit are still often stronger than the manual-led actions required by the new configuration). When they fly a 737 Max there is a bit of software in the system which detects stall conditions and corrects them automatically. The pilots should know that, they should adjust to that, they should know that they must switch off that system if it seems to be getting in the way, but all that may be steps too far, when something so important is so opaque.

What is interesting is that in emergencies people rely on their most validated mental models: residents fleeing a burning building tend to go out their usual exits, not even the nearest or safest exit. Pilots are used to pulling the nose up and pushing it down, to adding power and to easing back on it, and when a system takes over some of those decisions, they need to know about it.

After Lion Air I believed that pilots had been warned about the system, but had not paid sufficient attention to its admittedly complicated characteristics, but now it is claimed that the system was not in the training manual anyway. It was deemed a safety system that pilots did not need to know about.

This farrago has an unintended consequence, in that it may be a warning about artificial intelligence. Boeing may have rated the correction factor as too simple to merit human attention, something required mainly to correct a small difference in pitch characteristics unlikely to be encountered in most commercial flying, which is kept as smooth as possible for passenger comfort.

It would be terrible if an apparently small change in automated safety systems designed to avoid a stall turned out have given us a rogue plane, killing us to make us safe.

http://www.unz.com/jthompson/boeing-737-max-an-artificial-intelligence-event/
22   Patrick   2019 Mar 15, 8:12am  

Expat01 says
So, I do understand the reasons.


@Expat01 No, again I think you entirely missed the point.

Even Trump supporters are not really into Trump the person. The point is that Trump is the only politician addressing the important issues of the export of jobs and import of illegals, and unjustified cries of "racism!" against anyone who objects to their own impoverishment in the name of globalization.

You find a Democrat who will directly address those issues in spite of party pressure to keep the attention on Trump's personality alone, and that Democrat will win.

It's the corruption of the Democratic Party by the agents of globalization at the expense of the US middle class which brought us to this point.
23   Expat01   2019 Mar 15, 8:34am  

@Patrick
Have you ever been to ZH comments? Trump supporters would slay their first-born for Trump the man. They believe he is everything he claims to be. When he was apolitical, they hated him and saw him for what he was, a spoiled, ignorant asshole. Now they believe him when he claims to be smart or great at anything.
Trump is not addressing the issues of job exports in any substantial way or in any way that will result in jobs being brought back to the US. Trump is an avid supporter of illegals as evidenced by his employment of those illegals at his various projects. Trump is big on globalization as evidenced by his own forays abroad including Russia, that bedrock of democracy and freedom.

I never claimed the Democrats are addressing these issues. And I don't think the Democratic Party is any more corrupt than the Republicans when it comes to expatriating jobs or generally fucking over anyone they can. The US federal government is a bunch of millionaires whose only goal is to get re-elected. Some Republicans also try to roll us back to the middle ages and some Democrats try to take us to the left. But stating that the corruption of the Democratic by the agents of globalization brought us here is pure, absolute political bias and bullshit. If you want to say the corruption of the US political and corporate systems, then I will agree. But if you try to pretend the Republicans really give a rat's ass about some mullet-headed dipshit stocking shelves at Walmart while Democrats dont, then I just have to laugh.

Trump got elected because he is ignorant and proudly so. That is very appealing to many Americans who feel disenfranchised by the cultural and political elites in Washington. He mouthed the propaganda and slogans they loved to hear without really saying what they meant. MAGA? What does that mean? For many of Trump's supporters it means a return to pure white christian America. Trump winks at that without denying or confirming. Healthcare? Obamacare is a joke but not because it's socialist. Obamacare is terrible because it's NOT socialist. But Trumpturds won't try to understand that. Republicans tar things with terms like "socilalist" or "anti-capitalist" and that shuts down all debate. What is the military? Socialist. What are the police and fire department? Socialist. Air traffic controlers. Teachers. Postal service. highways. Traffic lights. Parking meters. It's all socialist.
I have not missed the point. I think Trump supporters have largely missed the point. Trump is a farce, a one-line joke. He is a fraud at all levels. He represents everything his supporters dislike, except for his propaganda. And that is all they hear and see...they ignore the facts, like his cabinet, the richest in history. Or the long list of his associates now going to jail.
So, no, I don't believe that Trump supporters only like his bullshit. they love the man telling it to them.
24   Patrick   2019 Mar 15, 9:39am  

Expat01 says
Trump got elected because he is ignorant and proudly so.


Absolutely false.

Trump got elected because he was the only candidate in touch with actual Americans and their concerns.
25   Richard Wicks   2019 Mar 15, 11:48am  

Patrick says
Expat01 says
Trump got elected because he is ignorant and proudly so.


Absolutely false.

Trump got elected because he was the only candidate in touch with actual Americans and their concerns.


Patrick, first - why do you set this up specifically to show the word "you" in red?

Second, I would argue Trump got elected simply because he wasn't another for life lying politician that we all knew for certain was blowing smoke up our ass. The rival candidate voted for the "Authorization to Use Force in Iraq", what is now known as that dumb war over a non existent weapons of mass destruction program, and she's the Butcher of Libya who re-introduced slavery to that nation again.

Fuck her.
26   Expat01   2019 Mar 15, 4:30pm  

Trump is about as touch with average Americans as I am with Kim Kardashian's gigantica ass. He spoke the lines they wanted to hear. he spewed the bullshit which got them riled up. But "in touch"? Give me a break. Trump is a rich, stupid NY elite with a major inferiority complex. He is a racist, a misogynist, and serial liar, cheater and fraud. He spouted propaganda and bullshit which ignorant fuckwits with barely a college education lapped up. Granted, he appealed to them more than the establishment Republicans but that only says that the political parties in America are bullshit, not that Trump is intelligent or competenet. He blew smoke up everyone's ass. He is a fraud who has lived a life that is direct contradiction with everything his supporters criticize in the left.

And fuck off with your Hillary crap. Hillary is an abomination. She should never have gotten the nomination, but that does not excuse Trump.

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