Features

Comparative study of Boeing and Airbus – Part III

Published

9 months ago

2025/07/7

Thilina Walpola

The Flight Management System (FMS) Display and Input Keys, the Human/Machine Interphase in modern times.

Aircraft automation

In 1914, an American, Lawrence Sperry, demonstrated gyroscope-stabilised, straight-and-level flight in Paris. This was the beginning of the automatic pilot. As years passed and flight distances got longer, automatic pilots for aircraft were introduced to carry out the mundane task of physical flying, and to free the pilot’s mind to navigate, communicate and manage the flight. Not all Airline people were happy when autopilots were introduced.

“I pay those guys to fly, so let them fly. I’ll be damned if I’ll pay them to just sit there.”

Eddie Rickenbacker

WWI Veteran and Chairman of Eastern Airlines, USA

Those early autopilots were ‘dumb and dutiful.’ Pilots referred to the autopilot as ‘George’. With the advent of digital computers and satellite technology, even the other two functions (navigation and communication) were taken over by automatics, and a Flight Management system (FMS) was introduced. Once the route was programmed, the FMS even tuned the required radio frequencies automatically in the vicinity, for navigation.

The Flight Management System (FMS) Display and Input Keys, the Human/Machine Interphase in modern times.

Airbus flight instructors used to say that if the Inertial Reference Systems were the brain of the aircraft the FMS was the heart. In addition, a host of parameters, from the operating condition of the engines to what movies are watched by passengers, can be monitored through telemetry from the ground in real time.

HUMAN FACTORS

A psychologist named David Beaty, formerly a World War II RAF pilot (for which he was awarded the DFC with bar) and BOAC Captain, propounded that there are many ‘Human Factors’ behind aircraft accidents. Beaty was born in Hatton, Ceylon in 1919 to a Methodist minister and his wife, both on a missionary posting from Britain, and received his early education at Kingswood College, Kandy. When Beaty first mooted his ‘human factors in aircraft accidents’ concept in 1967 it was regarded as controversial. After all, aviators were supposed to be supermen, not normal human beings.

As an extension of his passion for aircraft accident investigation, Beaty became a prolific and celebrated writer of novels, almost all with an air accident theme. Perhaps the best-known novel by Beaty is Cone of Silence, which was later adapted for the movie of the same name (renamed ‘Trouble in the Sky’ for US audiences). Another is The Temple Tree, the (fictional) story of a ‘plane crash at Colombo Airport, Katunayake.

It gradually dawned on accident investigators that what Beaty was saying was true, and indeed the human condition was the weakest link. As such, something needed to be done to improve that aspect of aviation safety. Two landmark accidents, both in the USA, provided added impetus: the crashes of an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in 1972, and a United Airlines DC-8 (1978). In both instances the pilots were distracted from the task at hand by mundane, peripheral matters and lost the ‘big picture’.

Many human factors experts realised that pilots must be taught to (1) know themselves, (2) know their crew, (3) know their aircraft and equipment, (4) know their priorities and, above all (5) constantly evaluate the risks. Thus, a new classroom subject called ‘Crew Resource Management’ (CRM) was born. Although, at first, it was thought by some that CRM was a case of ‘too many cooks’ and no one ‘minding the shop’.

the situation further, some aircraft manufacturers attempted to automate more pilot functions and design the human out of the system. The first crewmember to be dispensed with was the Radio Officer. Then came the job of Navigator, and lastly the Flight Engineer. Airline managements welcomed the new cockpit complement as high crew salaries were a part of the companies’ fixed costs, so the absence of those now-redundant jobs was a great saving. From the air safety point of view, the flight deck lost extra pairs of eyes with only a Captain and First Officer at the ‘pointy end’. Meanwhile, accident rates remained unacceptably high. There are suggestions now to have only a single pilot in large airliners purely to save money!

In reality, the reduction of errors on the flight deck was an impossibility, as humans still designed, built, operated, maintained, managed and regulated aircraft operating systems. ‘Threats and Errors’ could exist anywhere. Automation was meant to support the crew in a certain set of given conditions, not replace them. It was incapable of judgement. An oft-repeated story is that of a computer that was asked: ‘if there were two clocks, one of which had stopped, the other running one second slow, which would give the more accurate time?’ In its high-tech ‘wisdom’ and logic, the computer deduced that it was the clock that had stopped, as it gives the correct time twice a day, while the other never gave the accurate time!

FLY BY WIRE AIRCRAFT

In the 1980s, when Airbus designed the A320 aircraft, they said that the flight control computers (seven in all) were so advanced, software would have taken 800 man-years to check them. The manufacturer took the next best option of getting two different vendors to write the software for redundant systems so that one system could monitor the other.

Interestingly, as stated before, some of the algorithms for the ‘fly by wire’ computers were developed by a young Sri Lankan scientist/engineer named Gemunu Silva (1943-2021), who in the 1970s was given use of the only hybrid computer in France. His work at Toulouse eventually became the property of the French government.

Because of economic pressures, no aircraft is a mature product when it is introduced to the line. Modifications are done on the go, after introduction. Sometimes, blood needs to be spilt for positive changes to happen. That is a sad fact in aviation. The world’s pilots were still unprepared to accept the A320’s new level of automation.

Initially, Indian Airlines pilots went on strike and refused to fly the A320. It was called the ‘Scare Bus’. After three fatal crashes the A320 was also dubbed the ‘John Wayne of the Skies’, because it crashed through forests (Basel, Switzerland; 1988), ‘climbed’ mountains (Strasbourg, France; 1992), and killed Indians (Bangalore; 1990). Many meetings were held by the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) to address the A320’s human factors problems. Thankfully, we humans adapted to the new technology, and today the A320 and its numerous derivatives are the world’s safest and most popular aircraft.

In modern ‘glass cockpit’ aircraft, pilots are expected to disregard their feel to a large extent and fly by what they see on their electronic instruments displayed in colour-coded cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and LED (light-emitting diode) screens. The early A320 accidents, following the type’s introduction, were mostly the result of pilots’ misinterpretation of these instruments. This was the man-machine interface.

But automation brought a host of other problems for human operators who now had to spend more time on monitoring duties, which in turn caused complacency and boredom. However improbable, automatics tend to fail at the most critical time. Because of this, during critical phases such as automatic landings, aircraft have either two or three autopilots monitoring each other.

The differences in basic autopilot philosophies of the two main big-jet manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, are that while Boeing strived to have the automatics ‘human-centred’ with flight control feedback to give an indication to the pilots as to what the autopilots are doing, Airbus airplanes’ controls didn’t move at all, with pilots having to constantly update their situational awareness by asking “What is it doing now?”

Situational awareness is knowing what is going on around you. To know whether the engines were spooling (powering) up or down, in the early days of the A320 – as incredible as it sounds – pilots kept their feet flat on the flight deck floor; unlike in Boeing aircraft, the Airbus engine throttles didn’t move in keeping with engine power, so an immediate underfloor (engine) vibration, or lack of it, gave a good indication of what the engines were doing.

Another basic difference was that the warning systems in the older Boeings told pilots what was wrong. Calling for the relevant checklist was left to the pilots’ judgement.

Later Boeings such as the 777 and the 787 Dreamliner have fallen in line with Airbus practice by prioritising checklists. In both types of aircraft, a statement commonly made by the pilots is: “I have never seen that happen before.” Both manufacturers absolve themselves by saying, “If unsure, fly manually or at an acceptable level of automation”. However, in all ‘fly by wire’ aircraft there is no real manual mode. (i.e.) No cables and pulleys. What the pilots do is to program the autopilot computers through their flight controls. Even the engines are controlled by an electronic ‘FADEC’ (Full Authority Digital Engine Control).

Besides, all this high technology in the flight deck has introduced more than 15 audio warnings in the form of synthetic voices, bells, and whistles which the pilots have to identify by memory, differentiate, and carry out a split-second rectification action. Identifying the warnings incorrectly could be a matter of life and death.

Such was the case in the Helios Airways Boeing 737 crash in August 2005. During routine pre-flight maintenance, automatic cabin pressurisation had been switched off by maintenance engineers in order to run a test; but the disabled system had been overlooked by the pilots when carrying out their pre-flight checks. On the climb-out, when the Cabin High Altitude audio warning horn sounded, the pilots identified it as the Take-off Configuration Warning horn and did nothing as they were climbing out safely and not in the take-off phase. Consequently, everyone on board was starved of oxygen at high altitude, becoming unconscious or dying before the aircraft, flying on autopilot, crashed when its fuel supply eventually ran out.

In another incident, an Air France Airbus A330 aircraft operating from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic Ocean (June 2009) after encountering a heavy thunderstorm. The synthetic voice and an attention-getting bell sounded no less than 75 times, alerting the crew that they were falling out of the sky, before the aircraft descended to its watery doom. Why did the crew not react? Was there the ‘startle factor’? Was it a matter of inexperience and inadequate training? It all happened in the space of six vital minutes. The human factors element involved in that crash is the subject of an entire book.

INTO THE FUTURE

The Pilot/Aircraft interaction is through the Flight Management System (FMS) in the long term and directly to the Autopilot in the short term. According to many experts, the aircraft automation of today, while being quite smart, cannot be called ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI).

The systems still rely on data that has been defined by fallible human beings (the old computing adage: “Garbage in, garbage out)”.

Pilots are taught to operate modern aircraft on a ‘need to know’ basis due to economic pressures. Keeping a pilot in a classroom for a comprehensive ‘nuts and bolts’ program or simulator session is a loss of productivity.

While on the subject of automation, one of the ‘coolest’ devices the writer found in the Boeing 747 aircraft was a warning light and an audio ‘ping’ that come on if no switch activation has taken place in the flight deck for a specific period of time, with the accompanying message saying, “Pilot Input required”. Cancelling the warning is itself a pilot action which silences the electronic ‘watchdog’ for a while. This effectively relieves boredom on long flight sectors while ensuring that pilots stay awake.

Many experts believe that to achieve ‘AI’ status in automation, as many possible scenarios to specific problems as possible could be fed into the on-board computers, which then will select the most appropriate solution in the case of an emergency. But more refinements to this need to be done. Without a confusing horn, could a voice warning such as “Cabin Pressure” have saved the Helios Airways crew and their passengers? Conversely, in the Air France crash the voice warning also urging the appropriate corrective action, e.g. “Stall. Stall. Get Nose Down”, would have helped.

In the present context, the performance of ‘Stone Age’ human operators are still limited by hunger, humidity, lack of sleep, vibration, stress, fatigue, jetlag, optical illusions and spatial disorientation. There is a long way to go in addressing all of these factors. Airline managements, which are often ‘bottom line only’-orientated, still indulge in ‘penny pinching’ and ‘pilot pushing’, thereby contributing additional mental and physical stresses to crewmembers.

Quick turnarounds, minimum rest, inadequate time to unwind among friends and relatives, inappropriate financial inducement to fly on days off which are planned for the specific purpose of reducing cumulative fatigue, are some of the challenges that the airline industry faces today. The chances of making mistakes are greater in such environments.

Each individual is different, and therefore the lowest common denominator may have to be considered by the regulators. Human intelligence and the ability to make mistakes are two sides of the same coin. According to many experts, a ‘zero error’ target in air operations is impossible to achieve. What should be in place is an ‘error tolerant’ system, where human errors are detected, trapped and mitigated. The ICAO recommends that rather than being reactive, the industry should be proactive, predictive and preventive. Understanding the cause behind the cause of incidents and accidents, in terms of human factors is the Final Frontier.

In the more advanced Airbus airplanes not only did the warning tell you what was wrong but followed the pilot through a series of tasks to bring the unserviceable system back to an acceptable level of serviceability.

(The writer is a retired Airline Captain. He was a Human Factors and CRM facilitator for a Far Eastern airline, and has flown Lockheed L-1011, Boeings 737, 707 & 747, and Airbus A320, A330 & A340.aircraft.

Former member of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAASL) Accident Investigation Team. The incumbent OPA representative for ‘Aviation’.)

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Features

Illegal solar push ravages Hambantota elephant habitat: Environmentalist warns of deepening crisis

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Land earmarked for the project

A large-scale move to establish solar power plants in Hambantota has triggered a major environmental and social crisis, with more than 1,000 acres of forest—identified as critical elephant habitat—cleared in violation of the law, environmental activist Sajeewa Chamikara said.

Chamikara, speaking on behalf of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform, said that 17 companies have already begun clearing forest land along the boundaries of the Hambantota Elephant Management Reserve. The affected areas include Sanakku Gala, Orukemgala and Kapapu Wewa, which are known to be key elephant habitats and long-used movement corridors.

He said that what is taking place cannot be described as development, but rather as a large-scale destruction of natural ecosystems carried out under the cover of renewable energy expansion.

According to Chamikara, the clearing of forests has been carried out using heavy machinery, while large sections have also been deliberately set on fire to prepare the land for solar installations. He said that electric fences have been erected across wide stretches of land, effectively blocking elephant movement and fragmenting their natural habitat.

“These forests are not empty lands. They are part of a living system that supports wildlife and nearby communities. Once destroyed, they cannot be easily restored,” he said.

The projects in question include a 50 megawatt solar development undertaken by five companies and a larger 150 megawatt project implemented by 12 companies. The larger project is reported to be valued at around 150 million US dollars.

Chamikara stressed that these projects are being carried out in a coordinated manner and involve extensive land clearing on a scale that raises serious environmental concerns.

He further alleged that certain companies had paid about Rs. 14 million to secure support and move ahead with the projects. He said this points to a troubling failure of oversight by state institutions that are expected to protect forests and wildlife habitats.

“This is not only an environmental issue. It is also a serious governance issue. The institutions responsible for protecting these lands have failed in their duty,” he said.

Chamikara pointed out that under the National Environmental Act, any project of this scale must receive prior approval through a proper Environmental Impact Assessment process.

He said that clearing forest land before obtaining such approval is a direct violation of the law.

He added that legal requirements relating to archaeological assessments had also been ignored. Under existing regulations, large-scale land clearing requires prior evaluation to ensure that sites of historical or cultural value are not damaged.

“The law is very clear. You cannot go ahead with projects of this nature without proper approval. What we are seeing is a complete disregard for legal procedure,” Chamikara said.

The environmental impact of these activities is already becoming visible. With their natural habitats destroyed, elephants are increasingly moving into nearby villages in search of food and shelter. This has led to a sharp rise in human-elephant conflict in several areas.

Areas such as Mayurapura, Gonnooruwa, Meegahajandura and Thanamalvila have reported increasing encounters between humans and elephants. According to Chamikara, more than 5,000 farming families in these areas are now facing growing threats to their safety and livelihoods.

He warned that farmers are being forced to abandon their lands due to repeated elephant intrusions, while incidents involving damage to crops and property are rising. There have also been increasing reports of injuries and deaths among both humans and elephants.

“This is turning into a serious social and economic problem. When farmers cannot cultivate their lands, it affects food production, income and rural stability,” he said.

Chamikara also raised concerns about the broader environmental consequences of clearing forests for solar power projects. While renewable energy is promoted as a solution to reduce carbon emissions, he said that destroying forests undermines that goal.

“Forests play a key role in absorbing carbon dioxide. When you clear and burn them, you are increasing emissions, not reducing them. That defeats the purpose of promoting solar energy,” he explained.

He added that large-scale deforestation in dry zone areas such as Hambantota could also affect local weather patterns and reduce rainfall, which would have further negative impacts on agriculture and water resources.

Chamikara called for a shift in policy, urging authorities to focus on more sustainable approaches to solar power development. He said that rooftop solar systems on homes, public buildings and commercial establishments should be given priority, as they do not require clearing large areas of land.

He also recommended that solar projects be located on degraded or abandoned lands, such as areas affected by past mining or other low-value lands, rather than forests or productive agricultural areas.

“Renewable energy development must be done in a way that does not destroy the environment. There are better options available if there is proper planning,” he said.

Chamikara urged the Central Environmental Authority and the Department of Wildlife Conservation to take immediate action to stop ongoing land clearing and investigate the projects. He stressed that all activities carried out without proper approval should be halted until legal requirements are met.

He warned that failure to act now would lead to long-term environmental damage that could not be reversed.

“If this continues, we will lose not only forests and wildlife, but also the balance between people and nature that supports rural life. The consequences will be felt for generations,” he said.

The situation in Hambantota is fast emerging as a critical test of whether development goals can be balanced with environmental protection. As pressure grows, the response of authorities in the coming weeks is likely to determine whether the damage can still be contained or whether it will continue to spread unchecked.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Why Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings need to be at the heart of conflict resolution

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Mahatma Gandhi

All credit to the Tamil Nadu government for taking concrete measures to perpetuate the memory of the renowned Mahatma Gandhi of India, who on account of his moral teachings stands on par with the likes of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius and Jalaluddin Rumi, to name a few such all-time greats. The time is indeed ripe to draw the world’s attention to the Mahatma’s humanistic legacy which has resonated in the hearts of peace-oriented sections the world over down the decades.

Under its mega developmental blueprint titled ‘ Tamil Nadu 2030’, the Tamil Nadu government, among other things, intends transforming villages into centres of economic growth in conformity with the Mahatma’s vision of making the village the fundamental unit of material and spiritual advancement. Thus will come into being the ‘Uttamar Gandhi Model Villages Project’, which will be initially covering 10 village Panchayats. (Please see page 3 of The Island of March 11, 2026).

The timeliness of remembering and appreciating anew the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi resides in the utter lawlessness that has been allowed to overtake the world over the last few decades by none other than those global powers which took it upon themselves to usher in a world political and economic order based on the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Mainly in ‘the dock’ in this regard are the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

As is plain to see, the international law and order situation has veered out of control. Principal priorities for the international community or what’s left of it is to prevent the current mainly regional war in the Middle East from degenerating dangerously into another world war, coupled with the task of eliminating the possibility of another nuclear holocaust.

The most scorching of ironies is that the world’s ‘number one power’, the US, has virtually lost its way in the ‘Global Disorder’ it has been party to letting lose. For instance, instead of making good its boast of militarily neutralizing Iran and paving the way for the constant flow of fuel and gas from the Strait of Hormus by itself and Israel, it is now appealing to the rest of the West to come to its assistance. Not surprisingly, US allies are indicating their unwillingness to help pull the US’ ‘chestnuts out of the fire’.

Oil and gas are the veritable life blood of countries and going ahead it should not come as a surprise if impatience gets the better of the major powers and the nuclear option is resorted to by some of them under the dangerous illusion that it would be a quick-fix to their growing economic ills and frustrations.

All the above and more are within the realms of the possible and the need is pressing for humanistic voices to take centre stage in the present runaway crisis. As pointed out in this column last week, Realpolitik has overtaken the world and unless the latter is convinced of the self-destructive nature of the major powers’ policy of ‘meeting fire with fire’ to resolve their disputes, annihilation could be the lot of a good part of the world.

For far too long the voice of humanity has been muted and silenced in the affairs of world by the incendiary threats and counter-threats of the big powers and their allies. No quarter has been bold enough in these blood pressure-hiking slanging matches to speak of the need for brotherly love and compassion among nations and countries. But it’s the language of love and understanding that is the most pressing need currently and the Mahatma in his time did just that against mighty odds.

At present the US and Iran are trading threats and accusations over military-related developments in the Gulf and it’s anybody’s guess as to what turn these events will take. However, calming voices of humanity and moderation would help in deescalating tensions and such voices need to go to the assistance of the UN chief and his team.

The Mahatma used the technique of ‘Satyagraha’ or the policy of non-violent resistance to oppose and dis-empower to a degree the British empire in his time and the current major powers would do well to take a leaf from Gandhi. The latter also integrated into the strategy of non-violent resistance the policy of ‘Ahimsa’ or love and understanding which helped greatly in uniting rather than alienating adversaries. The language of love, it has been proved, speaks to the hearts and minds of people and has a profoundly healing impact.

Mahatma Gandhi defined the ideal of ‘Ahimsa’ thus: ‘In its positive form, “Ahimsa” means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower of “Ahimsa”, I must love my enemy or a stranger to me as I would my wrong-doing father or son. This active “Ahimsa” necessarily includes truth and fearlessness.’ (See; ‘Modern Indian Political Thought; Text and Context’ by Bidyut Chakrabarty and Rajendra Kumar Pandey, Sage Publications India, Pvt. Ltd., www.sagepub.in).

In the latter publication, the authors also defined the essence of ‘satyagraha’ as ‘protest without rancour’ and this is seen as ‘holding the key to his entire campaign’ of non-violent resistance. From these perspectives, the teaching, ‘hatred begets hatred’ acquires more salience and meaning.

Accordingly, the voice of reason and love needs to come centre stage and take charge of current international political discourse. The UN and allied organizations which advocate conflict resolution by peaceful means need to get together and ensure that their voices are clearly heard and understood. The global South could help in this process by seeing to the vibrant rejuvenation of organizations such as the Non-aligned Movement.

An immediate task for the peace-oriented and well meaning is to make the above projects happen fast. In the process they should underscore afresh the profound importance of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, who is acclaimed the world over as a uniting and healing political personality and prophet of peace.

If the Mahatma is universally acclaimed, the reason is plain to see. Put simply, he spoke to the hearts and minds of people everywhere, regardless of man-made barriers. The language of peace and brotherhood, that is, is understood by everyone. The world needs more prophets of peace and reconciliation of the likes of the Mahatma to drown out the voices of discord and war-mongering and ensure that the language of humanity prevails.

Features

Exciting scene awaits them …

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Future Model Hunt extravaganza, organised by Rukmal Senanayake, and advocacy trainer Tharaka Gurukanda, held in late January 2026, has brought into the limelight four outstanding contestants who will participate, at the international level, this year – Sandeepa Sewmini, Demitha Jayawardhana, Diwyanjana Senevirathna, and Nimesha Premachandra.

Nimesha took the honours as Mrs. Tourism Sri Lanka 2026 and was featured in The Island of 05th March,

Sandeepa Sewmini was crowned Miss Supranational 2026 and will represent Sri Lanka at the big event to be held in Poland later in the year.

A Business Management and Human Resources student, she will be competing under the guidance of Rukmal Senanayake from the Model With Ruki – Model Academy & Agency.

The Mister Supranational Sri Lanka crown went to Demitha Jayawardhana, a 20-year-old professional model and motocross rider.

Apart from modelling he is engaged in his family business.

Demitha Jayawardhana: Mister Supranational Sri Lanka 2026

Demitha is also a badminton player with a strong passion for sports, fitness and personal growth.

In fact, he is recognised for his strength, discipline, and passion for fitness.

A past student of Wycherley International School and St Peter’s College, Colombo, Demitha is currently in his second year of Economics Management at the Royal Institute of Colombo.

He will represent Sri Lanka at the 10th edition of the Mister Supranational pageant, in Poland, in August, 2026.

Mister and Miss Supranational are annual international beauty pageants, held in Poland, and are designed to discover new talent for the modelling and television industries and produce instant celebrities.

The competition focuses on elegance, intelligence, and social advocacy, with contestants, representing their countries.

The newly appointed Miss Teen International Sri Lanka 2026 is Diwyanjana Senevirathna.

She was crowned at the Future Model Hunt and will represent Sri Lanka at the Miss Teen International 2026 pageant in India.

Diwyanjana is noted for her grace and dedication to representing the country at this prestigious event that aims to celebrate talent, intelligence, charm, and individuality, and provide a platform for young girls to showcase their skills.