"Processes of expert decision making were examined in this study in the context of the air transport flight deck, an environment demanding informed and expedient judgments in a small-group setting. It was hypothesized that the decision making strategies that would be utilized by these experts, as reflected by patterns of information search and transfer, would be intuitive and recognitional, rather than analytical, and would be characterized by extensive and continual situation assessment, and serial, if any, evaluation of alternatives; and that the personality of the crew leader (Captain) would have an effect on information transfer and decision making during critical flight periods."--Page 1.
Decision making pervades every aspect of life: people make hundreds of decisions every day. The vast majority of these are trivial and without a right or wrong answer. In some respects there is also nothing extraordinary about pilot decision making. It is only the setting that is different - the underlying cognitive processes are just the same. However, it is the context and the consequences of a poor decision which serve to differentiate aeronautical decision making. Decisions on the flight deck are often made with incomplete information and while under time pressure. The implications for inadequate performance is much more serious than in many other professions. Poor decisions are implicated in over half of all aviation accidents. This volume contains key papers published over the last 25 years providing an overview of the major paradigms by which aeronautical decision making has been investigated. Furthermore, decision making does not occur in isolation. It is a joint function of the flight tasks; knowledge; equipment on the flight deck and other stressors. In this volume of collected papers, works from leading authors in the field consider all these aspects of aeronautical decision making.
Decision-making in the cockpit has a direct relationship with the safety of operations. But not only does it affect pilots of all levels, but it also involves many more people involved in the process. Decision-making is a process, and as such, it requires a series of logical steps to achieve the goal. This process occurs unconsciously in our brain in a fraction of a second. As human beings, we constantly make decisions, we decide what to eat, what clothes to wear, with which hand we caress our hair, or simply on which side we turn our heads when we hear a sound and react to this stimulus. All these actions are preceded by an unconscious process of the brain where in a fraction of a second all the options were analyzed and the most appropriate one was chosen. In aviation, the pilot constantly makes operational decisions, from the first hour of flight to the last at the end of his career. In this work, we will analyze all the variables that could affect the decision-making process, seeking to learn the tools to minimize the error during this process. An indispensable book for every pilot, regardless of their level of experience.
Distributed Cognition and Reality puts theory into practice, as the first book to show how to apply the Perceptual Cycle Model in aviation decision making. Based on case studies, critical incident interviews and live observations in cockpits, the authors develop a new way to understand how pilots and crews make decisions. This book will be useful for practitioners involved in accident and incident investigations and decision-making training, researchers and students within the disciplines of Aviation, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Engineering, Computer Science, and Psychology. Dr Katherine L Plant is a New Frontiers Fellow in Human Factors Engineering at the University of Southampton in the UK. In 2014 she was awarded the Honourable Company of Air Pilots Prize for Aviation Safety Research. Professor Neville A Stanton holds the Chair in Human Factors Engineering at the University of Southampton in the UK. In 2007 The Royal Aeronautical Society awarded him the Hodgson Medal for his work on flight-deck safety.
Decision-making in the cockpit has a direct relationship with the safety of operations. But not only does it affect pilots of all levels, but it also involves many more people involved in the process. Decision-making is a process, and as such, it requires a series of logical steps to achieve the goal. This process occurs unconsciously in our brain in a fraction of a second. As human beings, we constantly make decisions, we decide what to eat, what clothes to wear, with which hand we caress our hair, or simply on which side we turn our heads when we hear a sound and react to this stimulus. All these actions are preceded by an unconscious process of the brain where in a fraction of a second all the options were analyzed and the most appropriate one was chosen. In aviation, the pilot constantly makes operational decisions, from the first hour of flight to the last at the end of his career. In this work, we will analyze all the variables that could affect the decision-making process, seeking to learn the tools to minimize the error during this process. An indispensable book for every pilot, regardless of their level of experience.
Taking an integrated, systems approach to dealing exclusively with the human performance issues encountered on the flight deck of the modern airliner, this book describes the inter-relationships between the various application areas of human factors, recognising that the human contribution to the operation of an airliner does not fall into neat pigeonholes. The relationship between areas such as pilot selection, training, flight deck design and safety management is continually emphasised within the book. It also affirms the upside of human factors in aviation - the positive contribution that it can make to the industry - and avoids placing undue emphasis on when the human component fails. The book is divided into four main parts. Part one describes the underpinning science base, with chapters on human information processing, workload, situation awareness, decision making, error and individual differences. Part two of the book looks at the human in the system, containing chapters on pilot selection, simulation and training, stress, fatigue and alcohol, and environmental stressors. Part three takes a closer look at the machine (the aircraft), beginning with an examination of flight deck display design, followed by chapters on aircraft control, flight deck automation, and HCI on the flight deck. Part four completes the volume with a consideration of safety management issues, both on the flight deck and across the airline; the final chapter in this section looks at human factors for incident and accident investigation. The book is written for professionals within the aviation industry, both on the flight deck and elsewhere, for post-graduate students and for researchers working in the area.
Aeronautical Decision-Making and Aviation Safety in the Alaskan Operational Setting introduces the reader to the real-life experiences of aviators who fly in remote settings such as Alaska in the United States. It covers the challenges related to limited aviation infrastructure and support that affect human factors like aeronautical decision-making and its impact on aviation safety. Through a unique blend of meticulous case study analysis and semi-structured interviews with Alaskan pilots, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of the proverbial challenges of flying in Alaska. It uncovers the human factors elements specific to this environment, shedding light on the factors that influence a pilot’s decision-making, which may contribute to the high rate of accidents in Alaska and other remote regions. The content is supported by historical and socioeconomic perspectives on remote-setting aviation operations. Global perspectives are discussed with narratives from one author’s experiences flying to remote airstrips in Africa. The book concludes with practical recommendations to improve decision-making and aviation safety in these remote settings, making it a must-read for aviation professionals. This insightful research is not just for academic consumption. It is a practical guide for aviation professionals, including pilots, dispatch teams, air traffic controllers, and aviation support personnel. It offers valuable insights into the human factors involved in flying in Alaska, which can be directly applied in other aviation resource-constrained geographical regions, making it an indispensable resource for those in the field.
Avionics often serves as the tip of the spear for research into user-interface and systems usability in aviation. However, this emphasis on flashy, technology-driven design can come with a cost: the sacrifice of practical utility, which, in the high-stakes environment of military aviation, can lead directly to catastrophe. Mission Adaptive Display Technologies and Operational Decision Making in Aviation explores the use of adaptive and assistive technologies in aviation to establish clear guidelines for the design and implementation of such technologies to better serve the needs of both military and civilian pilots. Benefiting from the authors’ combined experience of more than 40 years in the aviation industry and over 25,000 flight-hours, this volume targets a wide audience of engineers and business professionals. This premier reference source covers topics of interest to aviators and engineers, including aerodynamic systems design, operational decision theory, user interface design, avionics, and concepts and cases in flight operations, mission performance, and pilot training.
What is for a professional pilot required to fly as safe as possible? Written by pilots the book gives a detailed introduction into the basics of accident prevention in air traffic. Explicit background knowledge as well as detailed listings of safety relevant features in human behaviour are included.
