Pilot Decision Making: Modeling Choices in Go-Around Situations

Pilot decision making is highly influenced by cockpit information displays. Decision quality could benefit from knowledge of temporal and individual influences on decision making under time pressure that suggests leverage points for cockpit or process design. In a recent flight simulator experiment, airline pilots were presented a realistic landing scenario. During the approach phase, instruments indicated weather conditions suggesting a go-around decision to be taken. The alternative decision consists of landing in spite of illegitimate strong tailwind. Gaze tracking analysis identified, whether relevant display information was picked up by the pilots. The time between checking the aircraft’s wind indicator and the moment of decision was taken as predictor of choice to go-around. Modeling of pilots’ choice behavior shows strong influences of the predictor analyzed. A comparison of long-haul captains and short-haul first officers shows dependency of decision-behavior on level of practice and training.     «

Pilot decision making is highly influenced by cockpit information displays. Decision quality could benefit from knowledge of temporal and individual influences on decision making under time pressure that suggests leverage points for cockpit or process design. In a recent flight simulator experiment, airline pilots were presented a realistic landing scenario. During the approach phase, instruments indicated weather conditions suggesting a go-around decision to be taken. The alternative decision c...     »