New standards and guidance on the way for electronic flight bags

CASA is looking to develop new guidance material for pilots, as well as standards for air transport operators, on the use of portable electronic flight
bags during flights.

For air transport operators the standards will address the requirements for operational approvals for the use of portable electronic flight bags.

The need for guidance material and standards is being driven by the rapid growth of purpose designed aviation software for electronic tablets, such as the
Apple Ipad, that could enable these devices to be used as electronic flight bags.

The issue has been identified at the global level with ICAO having recently reconvened an electronic flight bag working group. ICAO has recognised that current standards and recommended practices, as well as guidance material, on electronic flight bags are being made obsolete by new tablet technology.

CASA is playing a key role in the ICAO working group, having recentl y taken part in a meeting at ICAO headquarters in Montreal.

The ICAO working group is aiming to have new high-level standards and recommended practices developed for electronic flight bags by mid 2012.

A number of safety issues have already been identified in relation to the widespread use of electronic flight bags.

In the first instance the pace of evolving technology makes the development of new standards and guidance material a challenge. Data connectivity between portable devices and aircraft systems must also be addressed. In addition, there is a need for software assurance and operator quality control systems to manage the integrity of safety critical navigational and performance data.

While electronic flight bags have obvious value in the cockpit, human factors issues must be examined. There is a risk of information overload for pilots, which can divert attention away from the fundamental tasks of flying.