Cockpit Distractions: Precursors to Emergencies

Abstract

The Federal Aviation Administration promulgated the “Sterile Cockpit Rule” in mid-1981 in order to reduce incidents resulting from distractions occurring in the cockpit during critical phases of flight below 10,000 feet. The rule was, in part, a response to the large number of reports submitted to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) that indicated that non-safety-related activities, such as making PA announcements to passengers, had diverted flight crews' attention from their primary flight duties—with adverse results. In this paper, more recent ASRS reports are discussed. These reports indicate that distraction incidents below 10,000 feet have continued to occur since the rule was promulgated. The sources of distraction identified in the sample of ASRS reports are also discussed.