Why the Air Traffic System Will Never Be Fully Automated

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Recommended: Role of air traffic controllers in modern aviation

Automation can be defined as, when any calculating, decision-making, or controlled actions that could be done by a human is performed by a machine (Sethumadhavan, 2011). Within the last two decades, the safety of automated systems has become a progressively important issue due to major accidents that have caused environmental damage and loss of human lives. In the aviation industry automation is widely used and has many benefits. Automation has been shown to reduce incidents such as near misses and other aircraft incidents. Automation has also, be shown to increase the rate of decision making, improve pilots performance dealing with freezing temperatures, and allow controllers to better control their control zone (Sethumadhavan, 2011). However, there are potential consequences of the aviation industry relying heavily on automation.
Automation History
In the 1920s, there was an increase in aircraft speed and air traffic volume. Due to the new safety concerns and delays caused by the number of aircraft in the air, leaders in the aviation industry decided that federal action was needed. Congress introduced the Air Commerce Act of 1926. The Air Commerce Act allowed the Secretary of Commerce to establish air traffic rules, the certification of pilots and aircraft, and making airways and operating aids for navigation (NATCA, n.d.).
In 1929, the first U.S. air traffic controller was hired in St. Lois, Missouri at Charles Lindbergh’s home airfield. He was a former pilot and mechanic named Archie W. League. League controlled traffic out of a wheelbarrow. He carried a chair, an umbrella for shade, a notepad, and signal flares that he used to direct aircraft. League later attended college and received his degree in aeronautical e...

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...he Operational Use of Flight Path Management Systems.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2014). Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations/
Langan, J. (2009). Human automation teams and adaptable control for future air traffic management. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 39(5), 894-903. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1016/j.ergon.2009.04.002
NATCA (n.d.). A History of Air Traffic Control. Retrieved from http://www.natca.org/ULWSiteResources/natcaweb/Resources/file/Media%20Center/ATCHistory.pdf
Sethumadhavan, A. (2011). Effects of First Automation Failure on Situation Awareness and Performance in an Air Traffic Control Task. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50(1), 350-354. Retrieved from http://pro.sagepub.com/content/55/1/350

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