An Alternative Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft

Previous incidents and accidents involving twin-engine aircraft, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 crash, have revealed that pilots are prone to mistakes in identifying the engine that fails, and subsequently, shutting down the wrong engine, i.e. perfectly working engine. Most accidents of this type happen on takeoff when pilot workload is at its highest level. It may be that the current training procedure for engine failures on takeoff, called identify-verify-feather (IVF), is counterintuitive and may lead to greater confusion. IVF is based on haptic sensory channel, which is known to be less effective than visual channel. This study proposes a new method that is presumed to be more intuitive. The alternative method is based on the visual sensory channel, and it will teach pilots to look at the engine instruments instead of using the “dead leg – dead engine” principle. To test the proposed training, pilots with single engine licenses will be sampled and assigned to two groups – either the traditional method or the new training method. Each pilot will fly three flights in a flight simulator on a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. However, the simulator will be pre-set to include an engine failure on takeoff shortly after the aircraft becomes airborne. Participants will need to react to the failure based on the way they are trained. Reaction times and accuracy will be recorded and compared. Pilots who are taught the alternative method are expected to have a higher accuracy and reaction times for identification of a failed engine.