In aviation , a controlled flight into terrain ( CFIT ; usually / ˈ s iː f ɪ t / SEE -fit ) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, fully under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a body of water or other obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, the crew is unaware of the impending collision until impact, or it is too late to avert. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s.
11-635: The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) enhances safety by mitigating controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents. The Auto-GCAS team was awarded the 2018 Collier Trophy for the design-integration and flight testing in the F-35 , marking the year's greatest achievement in aeronautics. This team includes the Air Force Research Laboratory , Lockheed Martin , the F-35 Joint Program Office,
22-579: The Defense Safety Oversight Council, and NASA . The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System uses inputs from terrain mapping, aircraft location, and automation to avoid ground collisions. The Auto-GCAS system detects imminent ground contact and warns the pilot. If there is no pilot response, the Auto-GCAS takes control, maneuvering to avoid ground contact. When on a safe trajectory, with pilot awareness, control returns to
33-526: The F-35 fleet. Controlled flight into terrain Accidents where the aircraft is out of control at the time of impact, because of mechanical failure or pilot error , are classified instead as uncontrolled flight into terrain, or UFIT. Incidents resulting from the deliberate action of the person at the controls, such as a forced landing , an act of terrorism , or suicide by pilot , are also excluded from
44-416: The crew, may mislead them into improperly guiding the aircraft despite other information received from properly functioning equipment. CFIT is a constant hazard during aerial application and aerial firefighting operations, which involve routine low-altitude flight along varying routes over terrain that may be unfamiliar to the pilots. Before the installation of the first electronic terrain warning systems,
55-579: The definition of CFIT. According to Boeing in 1997, CFIT was a leading cause of airplane accidents involving the loss of life, causing over 9,000 deaths since the beginning of the commercial jet aircraft . CFIT was identified as a cause of 25% of USAF Class A mishaps between 1993 and 2002. According to data collected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) between 2008 and 2017, CFITs accounted for six percent of all commercial aircraft accidents, and
66-474: The only defenses against CFIT were conventional see-and-avoid aviation practices, pilot simulator training, crew resource management (CRM) and radar surveillance by air traffic services . While refinements applied to those practices helped reduced the incidence of CFIT accidents, they did not eliminate them. To further assist in preventing CFIT accidents, manufacturers developed terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS). The first generation of those systems
77-556: The pilot. Pilot unresponsiveness can be attributed to many factors including: distraction, task saturation, incapacitation, and unconsciousness. The Auto-GCAS system successfully reduced the leading cause of F-16 pilot fatalities. NASA started working on Auto-GCAS starting in 1997. The system was then jointly developed at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and at NASA . In July 2019, seven years ahead of schedule, Lockheed Martin began integration of Auto-GCAS into
88-446: The system has proved very effective in preventing further CFIT accidents. Smaller aircraft often use a GPS database of terrain to provide terrain warning. The GPS database contains a database of nearby terrain and will present terrain that is near the aircraft in red or yellow depending on its distance from the aircraft. The sterile flight deck rule was implemented to limit pilot distraction by banning any non-essential activities in
99-493: The terrain below and immediately ahead of them. Fatigue can cause even highly experienced professionals to make significant errors, which culminate in a CFIT accident. CFIT accidents frequently involve a collision with terrain such as hills or mountains or tall artificial obstacles such as radio towers during conditions of reduced visibility while approaching or departing from an airport. A contributing factor can be subtle navigation equipment malfunctions which, if not detected by
110-510: Was categorized as "the second-highest fatal accident category after Loss of Control Inflight (LOC-I) ". While there are many reasons why an aircraft might crash into terrain, including poor weather and navigational equipment failure, pilot error is the most common factor found in CFIT accidents. Behind such events there is often a loss of situational awareness by the pilot, who becomes unaware of their actual position and altitude in relation to
121-410: Was known as a ground proximity warning system (GPWS), which used a radar altimeter to assist in calculating terrain closure rates. That system was further improved with the addition of a GPS terrain database and is now known as an enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) . When combined with mandatory pilot simulator training which emphasizes proper responses to any caution or warning event,
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