Looking Out The Window

This I know: If you see something with your own two eyes, you probably can avoid it. Happened to me just last month. A regional airliner, working with ATC, was approaching its destination. I was working my way around the Class C airspace, at the center of which the airliner was aimed.

Amy Laboda

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must actively look outside the cockpit to maintain situational awareness, verify instrument data, and avoid hazards like traffic and weather, as advanced avionics can have limitations, inaccuracies, or delays.
Over-reliance on cockpit automation and glass panel displays, as exemplified by the Asiana 214 accident, can lead to a degradation of fundamental piloting skills and the ability to interpret critical visual cues.
Always prioritize basic flying skills, understand the intricacies and potential fallacies of technology, and integrate external observation with instrument monitoring for safer flight operations.

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I saw him first as an ADS-B target on my EFIS screen, a simple white diamond with a predicted (that’s important) trajectory, some 20 miles away. I looked up to search for him in my windscreen, even so. I always look up and out, no matter my flight conditions. Here’s why: Closing speeds what they were (around 450 knots), the distance between us closed in what felt like an instant. And there he was, right where I’d guessed and where ADS-B predicted.