FlightSmart has the potential to establish new standards for aviation. In addition to transforming pilot training, data insights could affect the airline industry’s approach to insurance, aircraft manufacturing and pilot retirement age. Furthermore, the algorithms, advanced analytics and data modeling embedded in FlightSmart could readily transfer to other industries. Imagine what AI and machine learning could do for train engineers, shipping captains, truck drivers and surgeons.
For its first use case, FlightSafety successfully deployed FlightSmart at a US Air Force base in Columbus, Mississippi. By improving training and safety, FlightSmart can reduce pilot errors and increase the speed to competency. Data shows not just whether a pilot is technically executing a maneuver correctly but also how smoothly. By unearthing personas and insights, instructors can customize and adapt training for an individual or a group of individuals who fly similarly. Pilots can spend less time on the skills they’ve recently mastered and more time learning where it’s needed most. These insights reduce student attrition and instructor burden. As one instructor put it, having an objective, automated breakdown of performance for each maneuver is a “huge improvement” over the tools they use now.
Data can also help predict a military or commercial aviator’s career path. Early on, an instructor can use data and AI to spot aggressive pilots who would excel with combat aircraft, or clearly identify the lowest-performing students who are unlikely to achieve certifications. Simulators cost approximately USD 1,000 per hour to operate, so being able to predict a student’s likelihood of success can help FlightSafety and its customers save a significant amount of time and money. A student who goes through flight training and fails to attain certification is a “million-dollar mistake”—literally. That is the approximate cost that a customer, such as the Air Force or an airline, invests in each individual pilot.
The next time you’re enjoying complimentary pretzels and in-flight entertainment, take comfort in knowing that FlightSmart is training more pilots, more efficiently, who are on the path to realize their full potential—the Captain Sully standard.
Want to see how data and AI can help your business take off? Talk to an IBM Garage expert.