PrepTest 130, Section 4, Question 1
Automated flight technology can guide an aircraft very(20 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(10 more words not shown)
- AAutomated flight technology(5 more words not shown)
- BSmaller aircraft do(9 more words not shown)
- CIf a plane's(12 more words not shown)
- DSome airplane crashes(13 more words not shown)
- EAutomated flight technology(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Autopilot can be useful without making a flight immune to human error. I can accept both statements. Still, how can a system that reliably guides a plane fail to protect it from people's mistakes?
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to explain that limitation even when the technology is functioning correctly. We are not being asked why a broken system might fail. Saying that technology is imperfect is a starting reaction, but we need to see how a human mistake can cause trouble while the technology does its job.
Working the answers
- A
A malfunction could explain a problem when the technology fails. But the passage specifically says that even correctly functioning technology is not a perfect safeguard against human error. A leaves that situation unexplained. Also, the passage does not establish that the technology sometimes malfunctions; we should not mistake its limited protection against human error for a technical breakdown.
- B
We are not told that infrequent updates interfere with protection against human error. A plane could use older technology that still functions correctly. Knowing the update schedule for smaller aircraft does not explain the limitation described.
- C
This tells us what the crew must do after a malfunction: operate the plane manually. Our problem concerns human error while the technology is working correctly. A response to a different situation does not explain this one.
- D
A crash caused by something other than either human error or malfunction would concern a different danger. We need to understand why this technology cannot completely protect against human error, not why other kinds of accidents can occur.
- ECorrect
Here is a way for the technology to work perfectly and still carry out a mistake. It follows exactly the commands people give it. If a person gives it the wrong command, faithfully executing that command can produce the wrong result.
Imagine directing a plane toward a mountain. A system that simply carries out that direction would be doing what it was told, but it would not be protecting the plane from the human mistake. Reliable execution is not the same as checking that the instructions are safe. That explains the limitation without requiring the technology to malfunction.
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