For one, he said, a vice presidency had been created to oversee safety. For another, American is changing the way its 10,000 pilots are to communicate on landings. Updated flight manuals are in the works. That, Baker said, is to cut down on what he called cockpit complacency amid a growing reliance on automation. We want them to do that.
Automation is a tool.
Jets have automated brakes and switches that engage the spoilers to slow the plane at touchdown and rollout. American wants to make sure the pilots know intimately how to operate those mechanisms if the automated systems fail. Also, training for severe-weather landings has gotten more emphasis since 1420, which landed as a storm was breaking, then careened down the runway at odd angles before overrunning it. How the weather came into play is yet to be determined, but Baker said American is increasing its check pilots' skills in reading and understanding on-board weather radar screens. The pilot of 1420, Capt.