
Innovate to Elevate
Automation’s Role in the Ongoing Evolution of Aviation Safety
January 2025
Ongoing Evolution of
Aviation Safety
120 years after the first powered flight, aviation continues to be one of mankind’s greatest achievements. In all aspects of modern aviation, including general aviation, commercial airliners, and even defense applications, the best flying happens when operators have the best technology, and today, aviation stands proudly as the safest transportation mode in our technologically infused world. Staying ahead of the technological curve, however, is no small task. Safe and secure flight operations are a journey, not a destination, and we must continually strive for excellence amidst an ever-evolving environment.
While technology continues to advance, the human brain’s unparalleled ability to assess and interpret complex situations, and also make critical judgments, remains the cornerstone of safe flight operations, especially when hundreds of lives are at stake with each and every flight. At Merlin, we believe the next leap in aviation safety will come from pairing the strengths of existing human pilots with the benefits of advanced automation. Automation already plays a vital role in helping pilots’ hands, eyes, and brains focus on the most critical tasks in the flight deck, but moving forward, it must evolve from a tool into a trusted partner that enhances decision-making, reduces workload, and increases performance.
Enabling this future will require deliberate, methodical steps that incrementally build the capability of emerging technologies, all while remaining grounded in proven safety practices and working collaboratively with industry and regulators. This paper discusses how we can take the first of these steps today, using automation technologies that already exist.
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