Okay, its 58 year’s away, but in looking back….the use of simulation for airplane pilot training was just starting in 1954. It was novel then, as simulation in health care is now! Let’s take a look and see what has happened in airplane safety, costs, and quality…..
- A US National Safety Council study showed flying 22 times safer than traveling by car.
- A Boeing aircraft takes off or lands every 2 seconds somewhere in the world—all day, every day!
- In 1959, the accident rate per million departures was 80…by 1973 the rate was 3 and has decreased EVERY YEAR since. It is now 0.1. (Source: www.flyingfear.net)
- In 1992 NASA started using simulation for the space program.
- Comments from an article written in 2002, ‘The Role of Aircraft Simulation in Improving Flight Safety’ (Source: www.nasa.gov)
- Communication is a critical element
- Engineers have access to all control room displays
- Opportunities to walk through scenarios
- Building control room proficiency contributes greatly to safety success…
- A debrief is conducted after each training session
- Improve the quality of flight cards and emergency procedures…..
Be it airplane flights, military applications, modern day project based education, simulation has come of age as a critical learning methodology.
Dream a little, think of these two questions:
- What will simulation and applications look like in 2070?
- What practices should we be incorporating now to prepare for the future?
No pun intended, but isn’t it ironic—there are no accidents!
Tell us what you’re thinking!