Humans Still Most Important Factor In UAV Incidents

Humans Still Most Important Factor In UAV Incidents

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The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is using special training to improve the way Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) crews operate the system.

Crew Resource management (CRM) helps the IAF to operate its unmanned air vehicles (UAV) in the most efficient way and with minimum loss of platforms.

An Israeli company has developed a training session that is aimed at improving the CRM in the UAV ground control unit that usually is manned by 3-4 experts, in most cases a pilot, a mission commander and a payload operator. In “complex” missions, the ground control unit is manned by other experts.

Zachi Laor, founder and CEO of CockpitRM, told Flight that people operating machines under diverse external environments construct a complex system of interdependent influences.”The most complicated component is the human factor, mainly how people perform and interact with each other.”

He added that UAVs operate in proximity to other infrastructure and use the same airspace as manned flights, so unsafe operation certainly may lead to catastrophic results involving humans.

“Unmanned systems have become advanced, multi million platforms. They are by no means expendable and we must streamline our operations to minimize platform loss “.

Laor, a former IAF pilot and currently an airline pilot,  said that UAV operation involves a coordinated team of interdisciplinary professionals. From maintenance and mission planning to command and control,  “teamwork is essential to mission success.”

The company examined many accidents and incidents involving  UAV’s and revealed that the human factor is the dominant factor which contributed or failed to prevent the mishap.

“The aim of the special CRM sessions is to train the crew members how to communicate seamlessly and with the best clarity even under harsh conditions.”