Human-Centered Systems Analysis of Aircraft Separation from Adverse Weather

Adverse weather significantly impacts the safety and efficiency of flight operations. Weather information plays a key role in mitigating the impact of adverse weather on flight operations by supporting air transportation decision-makers’ awareness of operational and mission risks. The emergence of new technologies for the surveillance, modeling, dissemination and presentation of information provides opportunities for improving both weather information and user decision-making. In order to support the development of new weather information systems, it is important to understand this complex problem thoroughly. This thesis applies a human-centered systems engineering approach to study the problem of separating aircraft from adverse weather. The approach explicitly considers the role of the human operator as part of the larger operational system. A series of models describing the interaction of the key elements of the adverse aircraft-weather encounter problem and a framework that characterizes users’ temporal decisionmaking were developed. Another framework that better matches pilots’ perspectives compared to traditional forecast verification methods articulated the value of forecast valid time according to a spacetime reference frame. The models and frameworks were validated using focused interviews with ten national subject matter experts in aviation meteorology or flight operations. The experts unanimously supported the general structure of the models and made suggestions on clarifications and refinements which were integrated in the final models. In addition, a cognitive walk-through of three adverse aircraft-weather encounters was conducted to provide an experiential perspective on the aviation weather problem. The scenarios were chosen to represent three of the most significant aviation weather hazards: icing, convective weather and low ceilings and visibility. They were built on actual meteorological information and the missions and pilot decisions were synthesized to investigate important weather encounter events. The cognitive walkthrough and the models were then used to identify opportunities for improving weather information and training. Of these, the most significant include opportunities to address users’ four-dimensional trajectorycentric perspectives and opportunities to improve the ability of pilots to make contingency plans when dealing with stochastic information

Implications of Contingency Planning Support for Weather and Icing

A human-centered systems analysis was applied to the adverse aircraft weather encounter problem in order to identify desirable functions of weather and icing information. The importance of contingency planning was identified as emerging from a system safety design methodology as well as from results of other aviation decision-making studies. The relationship between contingency planning support and information on regions clear of adverse weather was investigated in a scenariobased analysis. A rapid prototype example of the key elements in the depiction of icing conditions was developed in a case study, and the implications for the components of the icing information system were articulated.National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center under grant NAG3-217

Human-centered systems analysis of aircraft separation from adverse weather

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-138).Adverse weather significantly impacts the safety and efficiency of flight operations. Weather information plays a key role in mitigating the impact of adverse weather on flight operations by supporting air transportation decision-makers' awareness of operational and mission risks. The emergence of new technologies for the surveillance, modeling, dissemination and presentation of information provides opportunities for improving both weather information and user decision-making. In order to support the development of new weather information systems, it is important to understand this complex problem thoroughly. This thesis applies a human-centered systems engineering approach to study the problem of separating aircraft from adverse weather. The approach explicitly considers the role of the human operator as part of the larger operational system. A series of models describing the interaction of the key elements of the adverse aircraft-weather encounter problem and a framework that characterizes users' temporal decision- making were developed. Another framework that better matches pilots' perspectives compared to traditional forecast verification methods articulated the value of forecast valid time according to a space-time reference frame. The models and frameworks were validated using focused interviews with ten national subject matter experts in aviation meteorology or flight operations. The experts unanimously supported the general structure of the models and made suggestions on clarifications and refinements which were integrated in the final models. In addition, a cognitive walk-through of three adverse aircraft-weather encounters was conducted to provide an experiential perspective on the aviation weather problem.(cont.) The scenarios were chosen to represent three of the most significant aviation weather hazards: icing, convective weather and low ceilings and visibility. They were built on actual meteorological information and the missions and pilot decisions were synthesized to investigate important weather encounter events. The cognitive walk-through and the models were then used to identify opportunities for improving weather information and training. Of these, the most significant include opportunities to address users' four-dimensional trajectory-centric perspectives and opportunities to improve the ability of pilots to make contingency plans when dealing with stochastic information.by Laurence Vigeant-Langlois.Ph.D

Cockpit Weather Information System Requirements for Flight Operations in Icing Conditions

In order to support the development of remote sensing technologies, the requirements of cockpit information systems for flight operations in icing conditions were investigated. Pilot information needs were investigated in a web-based survey. Results identified important information elements, frequently used information paths for obtaining icing-related information, and data on significant icing encounters and key icing-related information and decision criteria. In addition, the influence of potential ice detection system features on pilot decision-making was investigated in a web-based experiment. Results showed that the use of graphical displays improved pilot decision-making over existing text-based icing information. The use of vertical view was found to support better decision-making. Range enhancement was not found to have strong positive influence; however the minimum range tested was 25 nautical miles, which may be in excess of current technical capabilities. The depiction of multiple icing severity levels was not found to be as important as accurate information on the location of icing conditions. This may have significant impact for remote sensing and forecasting efforts currently under way, as the technical challenges for accurate detection of icing presence may be significantly inferior to those of accurate detection of multiple icing severity levels

Cockpit weather information system requirements for flight operations in icing conditions

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2000.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-95).In order to support the development of remote sensing technologies, the requirements of cockpit information systems for flight operations in icing conditions were investigated. Pilot information needs were investigated in a web-based survey. Results identified important information elements, frequently used information paths for obtaining icing-related information, and data on significant icing encounters and key icing-related information and decision criteria. In addition, the influence of potential ice detection system features on pilot decision-making was investigated in a web-based experiment. Results showed that the use of graphical displays improved pilot decision-making over existing text-based icing information. The use of vertical view was found to support better decision-making. Range enhancement was not found to have strong positive influence; however the minimum range tested was 25 nautical miles, which may be in excess of current technical capabilities. The depiction of multiple icing severity levels was not found to be as important as accurate information on the location of icing conditions. This may have significant impact for remote sensing and forecasting efforts currently under way, as the technical challenges for accurate detection of icing presence may be significantly inferior to those of accurate detection of multiple icing severity levels.by Laurence N. Vigeant-Langlois.S.M

The Great Welsh Education Debate, 1980-1990

A human-centered systems analysis was applied to the adverse aircraft weather encounter problem in order to identify desirable functions of weather and icing information. The importance of contingency planning was identified as emerging from a system safety design methodology as well as from results of other aviation decision-making studies. The relationship between contingency planning support and information on regions clear of adverse weather was investigated in a scenariobased analysis. A rapid prototype example of the key elements in the depiction of icing conditions was developed in a case study, and the implications for the components of the icing information system were articulated

Implications of Contingency Planning Support for Weather and Icing Information

A human-centered systems analysis was applied to the adverse aircraft weather encounter problem in order to identify desirable functions of weather and icing information. The importance of contingency planning was identified as emerging from a system safety design methodology as well as from results of other aviation decision-making studies. The relationship between contingency planning support and information on regions clear of adverse weather was investigated in a scenario- based analysis. A rapid prototype example of the key elements in the depiction of icing conditions was developed in a case study, and the implications for the components of the icing information system were articulated

The Effect of Shared Information on Pilot/Controller Situation Awareness and Re-Route Negotiation

The effect of shared information is assessed in terms of pilot/controller negotiation and shared situation awareness. Pilot goals and situation awareness requirements are developed and compared against those of air traffic controllers to identify areas of common and competing interest. A part-task simulator experiment is described which probes pilot/controller interaction in areas where common information has the potential to lead to contention, as identified in the comparative analysis. Preliminary results are presented which suggest that shared information can effect more collaborative interaction between pilots and air traffic controllers