Feds Investigating Coffee Spill Aviation Safety Incident

The Federal Aviation Administration will soon begin an investigation into an unlikely addition safety scare-a false hijacking alarm that was triggered when a pilot spilled coffee on his cockpit console. The incident occurred on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. According to sources, some coffee spilt from the mug onto the console, and for reasons unknown, the hijacking alarm was sounded. The pilot was then forced to make an emergency landing at an airport in Toronto, Canada.

California plane crash attorneys still don't know why the hijacking alarm was sounded. There is no information about whether the hot beverage spill on the console interfered with the wiring and sensors that are an intricate part of every cockpit. There are also conflicting reports that there was an interruption in communication between the cockpit and the air traffic control tower. However, United Airlines insists that there was no interruption in communication between the cockpit of the plane and the nearest air traffic control tower, and that all safety protocols were followed.

The Federal Aviation Administration is however not taking a light view of this incident. The agency has said that it plans to investigate whether United Airlines has a policy in place not allowing pilots to place liquids on the console or move beverages over the console. If the airline has such policies in place, the Federal Aviation Administration plans to investigate whether the pilots had been made aware of these policies.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not ban pilots from having beverages in the cockpit. However, pilots are prohibited from placing the beverages on the console. They are also prevented from having meals while flying. The ban on snacking in the cockpit is to ensure that pilot attention is focused on flying, and there are no other distractions taking his concentration away from the flight.

Unfortunately, California plane crash attorneys have noticed that incidences of pilot distractions and complacency have increased with the increased amount of automation in modern cockpit. The United Airlines incident does raise questions about pilot inattention or distraction in the cockpit. Many cockpit operations are now computerized, but the downside to this is that pilots may find themselves lulled into a false sense of complacency. There is increased risk of distraction, if the automation in your cockpit is doing much of the flying for you. There's also this risk that the pilot won't take the task of flying the plane as seriously, when computers do much of the work.

There are other long-term concerns from this increased cockpit automation that safety experts have warned about. For instance, as new pilots venture into this industry, and fly planes equipped with sophisticated gadgetry designed to fly the plane automatically, we could be looking at a new generation of pilots that is used to near-complete automation, and lack the skills necessary to fly a plane manually. A pilot's experience will matter greatly when there's an emergency situation, and when crucial decisions have to be made. There may not be much of that when a pilot has spent his entire flying career at super-automated controls.