Identification and experimental validation of the impact of "party line" information on situational awareness in air carrier operations/

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 61).by Alan H. Midkiff.M.S

Hazard alerting and situational awareness in advanced air transport cockpits

Advances in avionics and display technology have significantly changed the cockpit environment in current 'glass cockpit' aircraft. Recent developments in display technology, on-board processing, data storage, and datalinked communications are likely to further alter the environment in second and third generation 'glass cockpit' aircraft. The interaction of advanced cockpit technology with human cognitive performance has been a major area of activity within the MIT Aeronautical Systems Laboratory. This paper presents an overview of the MIT Advanced Cockpit Simulation Facility. Several recent research projects are briefly reviewed and the most important results are summarized

Development and Evaluation of an Electronic Vertical Situation Display

Current advanced commercial transport aircraft, such as the Boeing B777/B747-400, the Airbus A320/A340 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, rely on AutoFlight Systems (AFS) for flight management, navigation and inner loop control. These systems have evolved from straightforward autopilots into multiple computers capable of sophisticated and interrelated tasks. These tasks span the range from high level flight management to low level inner loop control. In addition, these systems provide envelope protection to prevent pilots from committing mistakes such as stalling the aircraft or lowering flaps at high speeds. Unfortunately, as these systems have become more complex and interconnected, a new class of problems has developed associated with pilots’ interaction with the automation. Many incidents have been reported where there exists some confusion between the pilots’ expectations of the AFS and what the system is actually doing (Corwin, 1995). This confusion has been termed a Mode Awareness Problem (MAP). After a description of the AFS, a formal definition of mode awareness problems is presented in Section 1.3 followed by representative incidents in which mode awareness problems are suspected as being a contributory factor

Situation Awareness Information Requirements For Commercial Airline Pilots

Situation awareness is presented as a fundamental requirement for good airmanship, forming the basis for pilot decision making and performance. To develop a better understanding of the role of situation awareness in flying, an analysis was performed to determine the specific situation awareness information requirements for commercial aircraft pilots. This was conducted as a goal-directed task analysis in which pilots' major goals, subgoals, decisions and associated situation awareness information requirements were delineated based on elicitation from experienced commercial airline pilots. A determination of the major situation awareness information requirements for visual and instrument flight was developed from this analysis, providing a foundation for future system development which seeks to enhance pilot situation awareness and provide a basis for the development of situation awareness measures for commercial flight

Identification of Important "Party Line" Informational Elements and the Implications for Situational Awareness in the Datalink Environment

Air/ground digital datalink communications are an integral component of the FAA's Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernization strategy. With the introduction of datalink into the ATC system, there is concern over the potential loss of situational awareness by flight crews due to the reduction in the "party line" information available to the pilot. "Party line" information is gleaned by flight crews overhearing communications between ATC and other aircraft. In the datalink environment, party line information may not be available due to the use of discrete addressing. Information concerning the importance, availability, and accuracy of party line elements was explored through an opinion survey of active air carrier flight crews. The survey identified numerous important party line elements. These elements were scripted into a full-mission flight simulation. The flight simulation experiment examined the utilization of party line information by studying subject responses to the specific information elements. Some party line elements perceived as important were effectively utilized by flight crews in the simulated operational environment. However, other party line elements stimulated little or no increase in situational awareness. The ability to assimilate and use party line information appeared to be dependent on workload, time availability, and the tactical/strategic nature of the situations. In addition, the results of both the survey and the simulation indicated that the importance of party line information appeared to be greatest for operations near or on the airport. This indicates that caution must be exercised when implementing datalink communications in these high workload, tactical sectors.This work was supported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Ames Research Center and the Federal Aviation Administration under grant NAG 2-716

"Party Line" Information Use Studies and Implications for ATC Datalink Communications

The perceived importance and utilization of 'party line' information by air carrier flight crews was investigated through pilot surveys and a flight simulation study. The importance, availability, and accuracy of party line information elements were explored through surveys of pilots of several operational types. The survey identified numerous traffic and weather party line information elements which were considered important. These elements were scripted into a full-mission flight simulation which examined the utilization of party line information by studying subject responses to specific information element stimuli. The awareness of the different Party Line elements varied, and awareness was also affected by pilot workload. In addition, pilots were aware of some traffic information elements, but were reluctant to act on Party Line Information alone. Finally, the results of both the survey and the simulation indicated that the importance of party line information appeared to be greatest for operations near or on the airport. This indicates that caution should be exercised when implementing datalink communications in tower and close-in terminal control sectors