An Aviation Weather Preflight Decision Support Tool to Improve Ga Pilots Preflight and Inflight Performance

Low hour, inexperienced General Aviation (GA) pilots account for the majority of weather-related incidents, which often result in fatalities. Previous research identifies poor preflight planning practices and a lack of aviation weather knowledge as key contributing factors to the high novice private pilot accident and fatality rate. Research invested into resolving these issues often attempt to introduce new inflight weather technology to assist pilots with weather avoidance. However, these interventions usually result in pilots using the information to strategically navigate closer to degraded weather conditions (Beringer & Ball, 2004; Burgess & Thomas, 2004). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a performance support tool for weather preflight (PWDST) on pilots’ preflight performance and inflight performance. Seventy-eight private pilots (Mage = 20.15, SD = 2.56) without instrument ratings were recruited from a Southeastern US university. Forty-one visual flight rule (VFR) private pilots were randomly assigned to the control group (no preflight decision tool) and 37 VFR private pilots were assigned to the experimental group (preflight decision tool). Participants performed a weather preflight and a simulated flight for one VFR into instrument meteorological conditions scenario (i.e., VFR to IMC). Results indicated that participants in the PWDST condition examined significantly more weather products and reported higher weather awareness following the preflight activities than did participants in the control group. Furthermore, results also indicated that participants in the PWDST condition spent significantly less time in IMC than participants in the control condition. Additionally, results revealed that preflight decision-making was predicted by preflight performance and inflight decision-making was predicted by pilots’ awareness of weather inflight

Exploring Perceived Usability and Interpretability of Aviation Weather Products Among GA Pilots

Introduction Results Discussion Current Investigation

Aviation Weather Products in General Aviation: Interpretability and Usability Research Trends

As a result of advances in weather forecasting and technology, today’s General Aviation (GA) pilots have access to a wealth of aviation weather information. During pre-flight planning, GA pilots may access weather radar images, satellite pictures, winds, and forecast maps. During flight, pilots can access in-cockpit weather displays, as well as, handheld portable weather devices. Despite the increasing advancement and accessibility of weather displays, there is limited research addressing the interpretability of both in-cockpit and preflight weather displays. This is particularly concerning considering that preflight planning and poor product interpretability have been cited as possible contributing factors for GA weather related accidents. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and discuss the trends revealed from a series of studies that examined weather display interpretability (e.g., Blickensderfer et al., 2017; King et al., 2017; Ortiz et al., 2017). One important consideration of any display is its general interpretability or the ability of users (in this case GA pilots) to understand the significance of the information. Recently, our research team developed and validated an exam to assess pilots’ ability to interpret aviation weather product displays (Blickensderfer, Lanicci, Guinn, King, Ortiz, & Thomas, 2017). Overall, results indicated that most aviation weather displays have poor product interpretability. Further research was conducted using a larger and more generalizable sample (n = 837 pilots). Results of these studies indicated similar trends: Trend 1: Flight experience has a limited effect on pilots’ ability to interpret weather displays. The studies revealed that student pilots and non-instrument rated private pilots scored the lowest in interpreting aviation weather products. Interestingly, however, the scores of instrument rated pilots, commercial pilots, and flight instructors were still relatively moderate (below 80% correct on average). This would seem to indicate that flight experience may not have a direct correlation with the ability to interpret aviation weather products and aviation weather experience. Furthermore, the weather product displays’ learnability may be low. Trend 2: Pilots do not understand Weather Radar displays. Previous research warned that GA pilots may have difficulty interpreting weather radar correctly. In fact, results from Berringer and Ball (2004) suggested that pilots exhibited even more hazardous behavior with radar displays than without. The Blickensderfer et al. studies echo these results, as radar display interpretation scores ranged from 60-70%. Considering that radar products are widely used amongst GA pilots, poor interpretability scores might also provide insight into Visual Flight Rules(VFR) into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) incidents. Trend 3: Some categories of aviation weather products yielded higher scores than others. Interpretability scores on Winds Aloft were high. In contrast, scores on a variety of other weather products (including but not limited to METARs, Satellite, Ceiling Visbility Analysis, and Station Plots were quite low. For example, pilots struggled with METARs, a weather product that is considered fundamental to GA flight planning. The low interpretability scores on Satellite, CVA and Station Plots are even more troubling as these products appear in new overlaid displays (e.g., Defilippis et al., 2017). Trend 4: The interpretation scores align with results from usability assessments. Some prior research has assessed the usability of weather products. For example, Remy (2017) used a modified System Usability Scale to evaluate aviation weather products on the Aviation Weather Center website (Remy, 2017). The System Usability Scale (SUS) assesses perceived usability on a 10-item questionnaire, presented as a score out of 100. Scores below 68 are considered “below average.” The Remy (2017) results indicated that “winds and temperature aloft” received a usability score of 74, “enroute forecast” received a 68.63, and “adverse conditions” received a 64.13. These usability scores trended in the same direction as the previously reported interpretability scores (Blickensderfer, 2017), as that low-rated usability products also had low performance scores. Summary and Future Research GA flights that encounter hazardous weather typically end in fatalities. Recent research results indicate that pilots struggle to interpret aviation weather displays (Blickensderfer et al., 2017), which can result in an inadequate understanding of current and forecasted weather. Trends reveal that while student pilots and non-instrument rated private pilots fare the worst at display interpretation, even pilots with high flight hours as well as advanced flight certificates and ratings also struggle to interpret the displays. While some usability assessments have occurred, future research needs include additional usability analyses of the weather products and websites (e.g. the AWC website). Furthermore, the aviation weather displays may lack learnability, meaning that despite practice, pilots’ capability to interpret the displays remains low. Thus, future research should also assess the display learnability

An Evaluation on How General Aviaton Pilots Learn Basic Meteorology

An Evaluation on How General Aviation Pilots Learn Basic Meteorology Jayde M. King, Jessica Cruit, M.S., Beth Blickensderfer, PhD. Introduction. As General Aviation (GA) accidents continue to occur each year, industry officials as well as researchers search for insights into possible causes to these accidents. Weather, in particular degraded weather poses a threat to general aviation. In fact, according to Jarboe (2005), “weather-related airplane accidents led to 240 fatalities in the United States (U.S) and Puerto Rico”(pp.3-11). Considering these facts, questions rise to the degree to which GA pilots actually understand aviation weather knowledge. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires private pilots to pass the FAA Knowledge exam with a 70% or above. Although this exam includes weather-related questions to test pilots\u27 knowledge of these concepts, pilots can fail the weather portion of the knowledge exam while passing the entire exam, thus receiving their private pilot\u27s license without fully understanding the extent of weather products and weather phenomenon. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding into how pilots learn basic meteorology. Method. In order to assess how pilots learn about weather phenomenon, products, and sources before and/or during their training, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with ERAU and non ERAU affiliated pilots. The interview included questions such as, where pilots receive their weather training, how they receive their training, which phase of flight was the most important in terms of weather awareness, and what courses provided the most beneficial weather-related material. Results. The results of the interview reveal several interesting points. 1) Pilots learn weather-related material better when instructed by their flight instructor over any other form of instruction. 2) Pilots stated that the preflight phase of flight was the most crucial for understanding weather products and basic meteorological concepts. 3) As for which courses provided the most beneficial weather-related information, pilots claimed that the introductory weather course (WX201) gave students a better understanding of weather phenomenology over the more advanced weather course (WX301). Pilots stated that the material learned in WX301 was too specific and unnecessary. And although confessing that they did not fully understand or conceptualize the weather information presented in their meteorology courses, pilots explained that they felt comfortable with the breadth of weather-related knowledge learned. Ultimately, pilots agreed that weather plays an important role in flight and general aviation. Discussion. The information obtained from these interviews helps emphasize the importance of improving the quality and scope of weather-related questions on the FAA written exam. The results of the data seek to provide insights into how to better prepare student pilots during their training for possible weather-related hazards during their flight. Ultimately, the goal of this study is to train student pilots with a greater depth of weather knowledge in order to increase certainty in decision making during weather-related events. References Jarboe, J. (2005). U.S. Aviation Weather-Related Crashes and Fatalities in 2004. NOAA’sNational Weather Service, 4(2), 3-11. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/aviation/front/05june-front.pd

Effects of Various Texting Engagement Levels on Recall

Text messaging is a popular mode of communication for current college students, which is a concern due to its association with decreasing academic performance in a classroom environment. This study examined the effects of texting engagement level on learning. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students (n=74) were shown four, one-minute lecture videos and given a quiz after each video regarding the content, which tested recall accuracy. The participants were randomly assigned to three testing engagement conditions: No texting, Low Engagement texting, and High Engagement texting. By varying the type of responses to be generated and texted, we evaluated whether the higher engagement texting while watching educational videos would decrease participants’ recall relative to no texting and lower-engagement texting. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that the higher engagement texting while watching videos would decrease participants’ recall relative to no texting and lower-engagement texting. A significant effect was found between the No texting and Engagement texting conditions; however, the difference in recall between the low and high engagement conditions are not significant. Our results suggest that when people text while trying to pay attention to a secondary task in a classroom, learning is hindered. Further, learning is hindered by low as well as high engagement texting. Based on our study, future research on implications are warranted to better confirm and understand our findings

The General Aviation Pilot Preflight Weather Planning: Weather Products Usability & Limitations

Over the last 30 years, a large percentage of weather-related aviation accidents have occurred under General Aviation (GA) operations (FAA, 2010; Fultz & Ashley, 2016; AOPA, 2008). Novice Private Pilots VFR into IMC High Risk For Incurring Fatality Aviation Weather Challenges Difficult to interpret Aviation Weather Products Pilot\u27s Decision Making Biases and Errors GA Pilots\u27 Lack of Aviation Weather Experienc

The Effects of Display Type, Weather Type, and Pilot Experience on Pilot Interpretation of Weather Products

The majority of general aviation (GA) accidents involving adverse weather result in fatalities. Considering the high weather-related fatality rate among GA flight operations, it is imperative to ensure that GA pilots of all experience levels can incorporate available weather information into their flight planning. In the past decade, weather product development has incorporated increasing levels of automation, which has led to the generation of high-resolution, model-based aviation displays such as graphical turbulence guidance and current icing potential, which rival the resolution of radar and satellite imagery. This is in stark contrast to the traditional polygonal-based displays of aviation weather hazards (G-AIRMETs and SIGMETs). It is important to investigate the effects of these changes on the end user. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the interpretability of weather products for two areas of interest: display type (traditional polygons vs. model-based imagery) and type of weather phenomena (ceiling/visibility, turbulence, and icing), across a range of pilot experience levels. Two hundred and four participants completed a series of weather product interpretation questions. The results indicated significant effects of product display type, as well as significant effects of weather phenomena and pilot experience on product interpretation. Further investigation is needed to assess possible extraneous variables

A Proposed Taxonomy for General Aviation Pilot Weather Education and Training

As General Aviation (GA) safety continues to remain a focus of the aviation community, GA pilot weather education and training continues to be an active area of interest within the research community. This study introduces a taxonomy for organizing GA pilot weather education and training materials that was originally conceived as part of the FAA’s Weather Technology In the Cockpit research program. The taxonomy is built upon three main knowledge categories, or tiers:1) Weather Phenomena (which includes hazards); 2) Weather Hazard Products; and 3) Weather Hazard Product Sources and their Application. The concept behind the categorization is to link knowledge of basic meteorological concepts/theory, hazards, and hazard products to the application of that knowledge to make correct aeronautical decisions about the weather in all phases of flight, including planning. The application tier of the taxonomy is particularly important in today’s operating environment, where many commercial weather products and hand-portable applications are available to the GA community. These products and applications are not intended to teach pilots about weather; it is assumed that the pilot has an adequate weather background and understands the uses and limitations of these products. Our research and that of others on GA pilot education and training suggests that this may not be the case, thus the need for a methodology that “connects the dots” from theory to application. The “version 1.0” of the taxonomy contains these three tiers with two to three subcategories contained within each. Each subcategory itself can contain a number of individual topic areas. The taxonomy was developed by a subject matter expert team consisting of two aviation meteorologists, a certificated flight instructor with a meteorological background (who recently completed a Ph.D. in Aviation), a human factors psychologist, and two human factors doctoral students. The taxonomy’s potential applications in the education and training environment are also presented

Interpreting Aviation Weather Products: Follow-up study with AOPA Members

Purpose Use the questions we developed in Phase I Include pilots that are more representative of GA (age, flight hours/experience); Collaborate with AOPA Examine: Knowledge about aviation weather products; Differences between levels of flight certificate and/or rating