Comparing the Distraction of Cell Phone Conversations to In-Person Conversations on a Simulated Commercial Flight

The purpose of the study was to determine the difference in participants’ attention to announcements and compliance with safety behaviors when talking on a cell phone and when talking face-to-face in a simulated commercial flight. Currently, passengers are forbidden from making cell phone calls during flights in the United States due to electronic interference. However, any possible interference can be eliminated with the help of new technology. Although talking on the cell phone does not cause electronic interference, the distraction of a passenger caused by a cell phone may negatively impact safety. This study compared the extent of safety compliance (checking seatbelts, raising tray tables) and retention of announcements among three groups: cell phone conversation, face-to-face conversation (i.e., talking with the passenger next to them), and control. Findings revealed that the cell phone conversation group and the face-to-face conversation group recalled less information from safety announcement and complied with safety behaviors to a lesser degree than the control group. The face-to-face conversation group was not safer than the cell phone conversation group on any measure. Cell phone conversations did not have any greater influence on passenger’s attention to the announcements in comparison to the face-to-face conversations. Furthermore, safety compliance of passengers on cell phones appears to pose no greater risk than a passenger talking to an adjacent passenger. The findings support lifting the ban on cell phone calls on commercial flights

A Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft: A Survey

Previous research identified that wrong identification of a failed engine during a flight is not an uncommon event in an aircraft cockpit. A number of fatal accidents in the past, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 accident, resulted from failed engine mis-identification. Most accidents of this type happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. A short survey was created and distributed among airline pilots who operate twin-engine turboprop aircraft to gather their opinions regarding the issue. Forty-nine pilots responded to the survey. The average flight experience was more than 6,000 flight hours and almost nine years. Approximately 19 percent of respondents had to utilize the engine-out procedure in their experience. The majority of respondents felt comfortable with the current method of identification of a failed engine. Twenty-nine percent of respondents to the survey agreed with the statement that there could be a better method of identification of a failed engine. Thirty-four percent of respondents who provided suggestions for improvement of a current method recommended adding a visual indicator of some kind. The results of the survey provide greater insight into the problem of wrong identification of a failed engine in twin-engine propeller aircraft

An Alternative Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Propeller Aircraft

Previous research revealed that wrong identification of a failed engine during flight is not an uncommon event in twin-engine propeller aircraft. Most accidents of this type have happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. This study was based on the assumption that the “dead leg – dead engine” method was not efficient enough. An alternative method of identification of a failed engine, which involved a visual indicator inside a cockpit, was introduced and tested. Method: Student pilots from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who had not obtained multi-engine (MEL) rating were sampled and assigned to two groups – either the Traditional or the Alternative method. Participants performed three takeoffs in a flight training device, and an engine failure was simulated during each takeoff. Participant accuracy of identification and response time to an engine failure were measured and compared across flights and between groups. Results: Participants in the Alternative Group were able to identify a failed engine significantly (an average of two seconds) faster than the participants in the Traditional Group. Additionally, Participants in the Alternative Group reported being generally less confused in regard to which engine was failing and more confident that their identification was correct. It is recommended to measure the effectiveness of the alternative method among pilots who are MEL-rated. Implementation of a visual indicator for identification of a failed engine in twin-engine propeller aircraft may improve pilot performance in high workload situations and reduce the risk of pilot error

Reweighting AT-SAT to Mitigate Group Score Differences

The Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) test battery is the selection tool for applicants for Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) positions within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who have not previously been employed as an air traffic controller. AT-SAT is an aptitude test developed to predict the likelihood of successfully learning ATCS skills. Before operational use, however, concerns were raised about the low passing rate of incumbent (who are fully trained and certified) ATCS personnel (who participated in the initial research) and score differences between groups, which could result in adverse impact (possible unfair discrimination). To address these concerns, the subscores of AT-SAT were reweighted, and the additive constant was changed to yield a new total score. The present study compares the original and new scoring methods using data from 724 developmental ATCSs who volunteered to take AT-SAT. An average increase of 4.86 points was found with the new scoring method; the notional passing rate (achieving a score � 70) changed from 58.8% to 80%. American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic, and black participants showed the greatest average increase in overall scores, 6.97, 6.98, and 7.02, respectively. The increase in scores of Hispanic and black participants was significantly higher than the increase in scores for white participants [F(4, 689) = 6.186, p \u3c .001]. However, a chi square analysis showed no differences between groups for the number of participants whose failing score with the original scoring method changed to a passing score with the new scoring method. Additionally, a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of .85 was found between the two scoring methods, indicating that the ranking of individual participants did not change significantly. Moreover, no differences were found between groups in rank ordering of the two scoring methods. No significant gender differences were found between the scoring methods, with the scores for males increasing an average of 4.58 points and scores for females increasing an average of 5.67 points under the new weighting method. This study found that the new weighting formula has benefited all groups and is likely to reduce the potential of adverse impact

An Alternative Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft

Previous incidents and accidents involving twin-engine aircraft, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 crash, have revealed that pilots are prone to mistakes in identifying the engine that fails, and subsequently, shutting down the wrong engine, i.e. perfectly working engine. Most accidents of this type happen on takeoff when pilot workload is at its highest level. It may be that the current training procedure for engine failures on takeoff, called identify-verify-feather (IVF), is counterintuitive and may lead to greater confusion. IVF is based on haptic sensory channel, which is known to be less effective than visual channel. This study proposes a new method that is presumed to be more intuitive. The alternative method is based on the visual sensory channel, and it will teach pilots to look at the engine instruments instead of using the “dead leg – dead engine” principle. To test the proposed training, pilots with single engine licenses will be sampled and assigned to two groups – either the traditional method or the new training method. Each pilot will fly three flights in a flight simulator on a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. However, the simulator will be pre-set to include an engine failure on takeoff shortly after the aircraft becomes airborne. Participants will need to react to the failure based on the way they are trained. Reaction times and accuracy will be recorded and compared. Pilots who are taught the alternative method are expected to have a higher accuracy and reaction times for identification of a failed engine

Personality Types and Learning Styles of Collegiate Aviation Students

The personality types and learning styles of students have been studied across education populations, yet the research analyzing aviation students is lacking. A replication study assessed the distribution of personality types and learning styles of students enrolled in the aeronautical science baccalaureate degree program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Form M and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) were used to analyze the personality types and learning styles, respectively. When compared to the personality type distribution of the traditional college student sample using a selection ratio type table, a significant overrepresentation of the personality type of ISTJ was found among the aviation students (I = 4.36, p \u3c .001). The distribution of learning styles of the aviation students were also compared to the traditional college student sample; Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests revealed an overrepresentation of divergent learners, χ2 (3) = 7.40,p = .002. A Pearson Chi-square test for independence examined if personality type is a predictive factor of aviation student learning preference and found no evidence to support a relationship in the sample

Evaluating Scenarios That Can Startle and Surprise Pilots

Startle and surprise in the cockpit have contributed to multiple aviation accidents. The aviation safety boards of France, the United States, and Holland have concluded that startle and surprise pose a serious threat to pilots. This study identified the effects startle and surprise had on multi-engine rated pilots. Surprise is defined here as something unexpected (e.g., engine failure). Startle is the associated exaggerated effect of an unexpected condition (e.g., loud bang). At this point, data has been collected on 15 pilots. Pilots were tested in an aviation training device configured to a Cessna 172 and a Beechcraft Baron 58. Each pilot flew the single and multi-engine aircraft in a scenario that induced an informed emergency condition, a surprise uninformed emergency condition, and a startle and surprise uninformed emergency condition for each aircraft. During each condition heart and respiration rate, flight performance, and workload were collected. The startle and surprise condition showed highest respiration for both planes. However, there was no difference for heart rate between the two aircraft for the informed condition, but heart rate was highest in the startle and surprise condition for the twin-engine aircraft when compared to the single-engine aircraft. The temporal demand workload was higher for the twin-engine when compared to the single-engine for the surprise condition only. Performance differences were found, which we think will show significance differences after more data is collected. Potential application of this study will help us understand how pilots will react in various unexpected conditions of different aircraft

Divergent Attitudes Regarding the Benefits of Face Masks in Aviation Colleges and Universities

Opinions and practices regarding face masks (FM) to attenuate COVID-19’s spread remains polarized across the United States. We examined whether these attitudes extend to the aviation collegiate community. A 14-question survey was sent to 90 aviation colleges and universities throughout the country. Responses were solicited from students, faculty, and staff. Of the 598 respondents, 77% were students, 13% were faculty, and 10% were staff. Pilots comprised 66% of the respondents. A Principal Component Analysis reduced the questions to two scales: Benefits and Inconvenience. Females, non-pilots, and older respondents reported greater benefits to wearing a FMand fewer inconveniences. A multiple regression showed aviation colleges and universities located in states which had FMmandates, higher likelihood of community compliance, lower rates of COVID-19 in their state, and reports of less inconvenience predicted attitudes of greater benefits of wearing a FM. Additional comments were provided by 28% of the respondents, showing strongly polarized attitudes about the benefits of FMs. Respondents who had negative attitudes about the benefits of wearing FMs, nevertheless reported compliance on college campus. As leaders in education, collegiate aviation has a responsibility to educate their students, faculty, and staff of the importance of public health measures, dispelling misinformation, and modelling behavior to increase compliance with wearing FMs

Face Mask Effects of CO2, Heart Rate, Respiration Rate, and Oxygen Saturation on Instructor Pilots

The COVID-19 pandemic has required people to take new measures to mitigate the spread of the communicable virus. Guidelines from health organizations, government offices, and universities have been disseminated. Adherence to these guidelines cannot be more critical for flight training. This study explored the effects face masks had on CO2, heart rate, respiration rate, and oxygen saturation while wearing a face mask at an oxygen level simulated to 5,000 feet. Thirty-two instructor pilots (IP) volunteered to participate in the study. IPs spent 90 minutes in a normobaric chamber while wearing a cloth face mask or a paper face mask. Participants were measured before entering the chamber, at the 15-minute mark, at the 45-minute mark, at the 90-minute mark, and after exiting the chamber where they briefly removed their mask for a final measurement. No differences were found between type of face mask. Wearing face masks did not present any potential health or safety issues for the IPs. However, IPs did report moderate dislikes (e.g., comfort, issues with fatigue, restriction of movement) of wearing face masks. Although face masks may be a nuisance, it does not appear to create any health or safety issues at a simulated altitude of 5,000 feet

Using VR for Training how to Conduct A Tire Change on an Aircraft

Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming an affordable and increasingly common tool for training. Twenty-four Aviation Maintenance Science students were randomly assigned to a VR group or a Traditional Training (Demonstration) group for a Cessna tire change module. The VR group spent about 5 minutes interacting with the VR application where they completed several actions to replace a tire. The Traditional group watched the course instructor change a tire in the maintenance hangar. One week later, students from both groups changed a tire in a real-world environment. Time to complete tasks were measured for locating the procedure in the manual, jacking the airplane up, removing the cotter pin, removing the wheel, replacing the wheel, and jacking the airplane down. Participants self-reported on a scale of 1(Not helpful at all) to 10 (Extremely helpful) how beneficial they felt their training session was. The Traditional group was significantly faster than the VR group in locating the procedure in the manual (a task not conducted in the VR application). No other difference in time to complete tasks were found. The Traditional group rated their training as significantly more helpful for changing the tire than the VR group did. Except for downjacking the aircraft, a significant correlation was found between the more helpful students found their respective training and the faster they completed each task. Although the VR application was not better than the Traditional Training for the real-world task, finding VR training not worse than Traditional training for transfer of task warrants further study