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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

A study of decision-making behavior of aircraft pilots deviating from a planned flight

This paper outlines an investigation into the worth structures of pilots facing a deviation from a planned flight. A 'paper and pencil' simulation was used to frame the situation into which pilots interjected their own decision making skills in a simple ranking of candidate diversion airports with varying locational, navigational aid, radar and weather attributes. Using the conjoint measurement technique, attribute worth functions of 30 pilots were constructed. It was discovered that systematic differences in the worth functions of the pilots did not occur as a result of dividing the pilot sample according to any measure of flight hour experience. However, differences were found when the pilot sample was grouped according to grade of pilot certificate, type of pilot training, and type of flying most commonly done.

Flather, G. W., II↗
NASA NTRS1983

Pilot Human Factors in Stall/Spin Accidents of Supersonic Fighter Aircraft

A study has been made of pilot human factors related to stall/spin accidents of supersonic fighter aircraft. The military specifications for flight at high angles of attack are examined. Several pilot human factors problems related to stall/spin are discussed. These problems include (1) unsatisfactory nonvisual warning cues; (2) the inability of the pilot to quickly determine if the aircraft is spinning out of control, or to recognize the type of spin; (3) the inability of the pilot to decide on and implement the correct spin recovery technique; (4) the inability of the pilot to move, caused by high angular rotation; and (5) the tendency of pilots to wait too long in deciding to abandon the irrecoverable aircraft. Psycho-physiological phenomena influencing pilot's behavior in stall/spin situations include (1) channelization of sensory inputs, (2) limitations in precisely controlling several muscular inputs, (3) inaccurate judgment of elapsed time, and (4) disorientation of vestibulo-ocular inputs. Results are given of pilot responses to all these problems in the F14A, F16/AB, and F/A-18A aircraft. The use of departure spin resistance and automatic spin prevention systems incorporated on recent supersonic fighters are discussed. These systems should help to improve the stall/spin accident record with some compromise in maneuverability.

Anderson, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Pilot human factors in stall/spin accidents of supersonic fighter aircraft

A study has been made of pilot human factors related to stall/spin accidents of supersonic fighter aircraft. The military specifications for flight at high angles of attack are examined. Several pilot human factors problems related to stall/spin are discussed. These problems include: (1) unsatisfactory nonvisual warning cues; (2) the inability of the pilot to quickly determine if the aircraft is spinning out of control, or to recognize the type of spin; (3) the inability of the pilot to decide on and implement the correct spin recovery technique; (4) the inability of the pilot to move, caused by high angular rotation; and (5) the tendency of pilots to wait too long in deciding to abandon the irrecoverable aircraft. Psycho-physiological phenomena influencin pilot's behavior in stall/spin situations include: (1) channelization of sensor inputs, (2) limitations in precisely controlling several muscular inputs, (3) inaccurate judgment of elapsed time, and (4) disorientation of vestibulo-ocular inputs. Results are given of pilot responses to all these problems in the F14A, F16/AB, and F/A-18A aircraft. The use of departure spin resistance and automatic spin prevention systems incorporated on recent supersonic fighters are discussed. These systems should help to improve the stall/spin accident record with some compromise in maneuverability.

Anderson, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An error-dependent model of instrument-scanning behavior in commercial airline pilots

A new flexible model of pilot instrument scanning behavior is presented which assumes that the pilot uses a set of deterministic scanning patterns on the pilot's perception of error in the state of the aircraft, and the pilot's knowledge of the interactive nature of the aircraft's systems. Statistical analyses revealed that a three stage Markov process composed of the pilot's three predicted lookpoints (LP), occurring 1/30, 2/30, and 3/30 of a second prior to each LP, accurately modelled the scanning behavior of 14 commercial airline pilots while flying steep turn maneuvers in a Boeing 737 flight simulator. The modelled scanning data for each pilot were not statistically different from the observed scanning data in comparisons of mean dwell time, entropy, and entropy rate. These findings represent the first direct evidence that pilots are using deterministic scanning patterns during instrument flight. The results are interpreted as direct support for the error dependent model and suggestions are made for further research that could allow for identification of the specific scanning patterns suggested by the model.

Jones, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Evaluation of the pseudo pilot effect on baseline controller study data

The Baseline Controller Study requires the support of pseudo pilots who input computer commands in response to air data in a simulated environment. Errors committed either by pseudo pilots, or by the computer's failure to accept commands, can result in data that is not representative of controller capabilities. Therefore, it became necessary to evaluate the actions of the pseudo pilots and determine what effect, if any, those actions had upon a given set of baseline data. The Pseudo Pilot Stations (PPS) associated with the Baseline Controller Study are user unfriendly. This fact, coupled with the human factor of the pilots themselves, required exploration of the degree the pseudo pilot's actions affected the subject air traffic controller actions during the collection of baseline data. Examination of the preliminary data collected by the Basline Controller Study subjectively determined that pseudo pilot actions do, indeed, affect the the research data. Further study is needed to quantify that affect and, perhaps, assign a value to the pseudo pilot factor rather than merely decide which simulations are valid and which are not.

Newcomb, Linda C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The insertion of human dynamics models in the flight control loops of V/STOL research aircraft. Appendix 2: The optimal control model of a pilot in V/STOL aircraft control loops

An overview is presented of research work focussed on the design and insertion of classical models of human pilot dynamics within the flight control loops of V/STOL aircraft. The pilots were designed and configured for use in integrated control system research and design. The models of human behavior that were considered are: McRuer-Krendel (a single variable transfer function model); and Optimal Control Model (a multi-variable approach based on optimal control and stochastic estimation theory). These models attempt to predict human control response characteristics when confronted with compensatory tracking and state regulation tasks. An overview, mathematical description, and discussion of predictive limitations of the pilot models is presented. Design strategies and closed loop insertion configurations are introduced and considered for various flight control scenarios. Models of aircraft dynamics (both transfer function and state space based) are developed and discussed for their use in pilot design and application. Pilot design and insertion are illustrated for various flight control objectives. Results of pilot insertion within the control loops of two V/STOL research aricraft (Sikorski Black Hawk UH-60A, McDonnell Douglas Harrier II AV-8B) are presented and compared against actual pilot flight data. Conclusions are reached on the ability of the pilot models to adequately predict human behavior when confronted with similar control objectives.

Zipf, Mark E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

General Aviation Pilots' Perceived Usage and Valuation of Aviation Weather Information Sources

Aviation suffers many accidents due to the lack of good weather information in flight. Existing aviation weather information is difficult to obtain when it is most needed and is not well formatted for in-flight use. Because it is generally presented aurally, aviation weather information is difficult to integrate with spatial flight information and retain for reference. Efforts, by NASA's Aviation Weather Information (AWIN) team and others, to improve weather information accessibility, usability and decision aiding will enhance General Aviation (GA) pilots' weather situation awareness and decision-making and therefore should improve the safety of GA flight. Consideration of pilots' economic concerns will ensure that in-flight weather information systems are financially accessible to GA pilots as well. The purpose of this survey was to describe how aviation operator communities gather and use weather information as well as how weather related decisions are made between flight crews and supporting personnel. Pilots of small GA aircraft experience the most weather-related accidents as well as the most fatal weather related accident. For this reason, the survey design and advertisement focused on encouraging participation from GA pilots. Perhaps as a result of this emphasis, most responses, 97 responses or 85% of the entire response set, were from GA pilots, This paper presents only analysis of these GA pilots' responses. The insights provided by this survey regarding GA pilots' perceived value and usage of current aviation weather information. services, and products provide a basis for technological approaches to improve GA safety. Results of this survey are discussed in the context of survey limitations and prior work, and serve as the foundation for a model of weather information value, guidance for the design of in-flight weather information systems, and definition of further research toward their development.

Latorella, Kara↗
NASA NTRS2002

Synthetic Vision Systems in GA Cockpit-Evaluation of Basic Maneuvers Performed by Low Time GA Pilots During Transition from VMC to IMC

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of modern flight displays in general aviation cockpits for mitigating Low Visibility Loss of Control and the Controlled Flight Into Terrain accidents. A total of 18 General Aviation (GA) pilots with private pilot, single engine land rating, with no additional instrument training beyond private pilot license requirements, were recruited to evaluate three different display concepts in a fixed-based flight simulator at the NASA Langley Research Center's General Aviation Work Station. Evaluation pilots were asked to continue flight from Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) while performing a series of 4 basic precision maneuvers. During the experiment, relevant pilot/vehicle performance variables, pilot control inputs and physiological data were recorded. Human factors questionnaires and interviews were administered after each scenario. Qualitative and quantitative data have been analyzed and the results are presented here. Pilot performance deviations from the established target values (errors) were computed and compared with the FAA Practical Test Standards. Results of the quantitative data indicate that evaluation pilots committed substantially fewer errors when using the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays than when they were using conventional instruments. Results of the qualitative data indicate that evaluation pilots perceived themselves to have a much higher level of situation awareness while using the SVS display concept.

Takallu, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Airborne Conflict Management within Confined Airspace in a Piloted Simulation of DAG-TM Autonomous Aircraft Operations

A human-in-the-loop experiment was performed at the NASA Langley Research Center to study the feasibility of Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) autonomous aircraft operations in highly constrained airspace. The airspace was constrained by a pair of special use airspace (SUA) regions on either side of the pilot s planned route. The available airspace was further varied by changing the separation standard for lateral separation between 3 nm and 5 nm. The pilot had to maneuver through the corridor between the SUA s, avoid other traffic and meet flow management constraints. Traffic flow management (TFM) constraints were imposed as a required time of arrival and crossing altitude at an en route fix. This is a follow-up study to work presented at the 4th USA/Europe Air Traffic Management R&D Seminar in December 2001. Nearly all of the pilots were able to meet their TFM constraints while maintaining adequate separation from other traffic. In only 3 out of 59 runs were the pilots unable to meet their required time of arrival. Two loss of separation cases are studied and it is found that the pilots need conflict prevention information presented in a clearer manner. No degradation of performance or safety was seen between the wide and narrow corridors. Although this was not a thorough study of the consequences of reducing the en route lateral separation, nothing was found that would refute the feasibility of reducing the separation requirement from 5 nm to 3 nm. The creation of additional, second-generation conflicts is also investigated. Two resolution methods were offered to the pilots: strategic and tactical. The strategic method is a closed-loop alteration to the Flight Management System (FMS) active route that considers other traffic as well as TFM constraints. The tactical resolutions are short-term resolutions that leave avoiding other traffic conflicts and meeting the TFM constraints to the pilot. Those that made use of the strategic tools avoided additional conflicts, whereas, those making tactical maneuvers often caused additional conflicts. Many of these second-generation conflicts could be avoided by improved conflict prevention tools that clearly present to the pilot which maneuver choices will result in a conflict-free path. These results, together with previously reported studies, continue to support the feasibility of autonomous aircraft operations.

Barmore, Bryan↗
NASA NTRS2005

High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS): Pilot Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

This report summarizes the initial work accomplished by the ACCESS 5 Human System Integration (HSI) team to identify Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Pilot Knowledge, Skill and Ability (KSA), Training and Medical requirements. To derive this information the following tasks were accomplished: a) Mission and Function analyses were performed; b) Applicable FARs and FAA Advisory Circulars (ACs) were reviewed; c) Meetings were conducted with NASA and FAA Human Factors personnel; d) Surveys were completed by ACCESS 5 HSI Working group UA Pilots; e) Coordination meetings were conducted with the ACCESS 5 Policy IPT. The results of these efforts were used to develop a summary of the current qualifications. for an individual to function as a Pilot In Command (PIC) for UAs currently flown by UNITE companies, to develop preliminary Pilot KSAs for each phase of flight, and to delineate preliminary Pilot Training and Medical requirements. These results are to be provided to the Policy IPT to support their development of recommendations for UA Pilot Rating Criteria, training and medical qualifications. It is expected that the initially an instrument rated pilot will be required to serve as the PIC. However, as operational experience is gained, and automation is applied to accomplish various system functions, it is expected that pilot rating criteria could be lessened.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2008

Beyond 'Inop': Logbook Communication Between Airline Mechanics and Pilots

When mechanical discrepancies occur on aircraft, effective communication between pilots and mechanics can facilitate identification of the problem. A survey of pilots and mechanics was conducted to determine how often they were able to discuss discrepancies directly and to identify factors that influenced the detail they provided about discrepancies in the aircraft logbook. Logistical factors such as short turn times between flights and crew schedules appeared to present barriers to face-to-face meetings between pilots and mechanics. Guidelines for pilot logbook entries. Pilots reported receiving significantly less training on writing logbook entries and spent significantly less time making individual entries than mechanics. Mechanics indicated greater concern about the Federal Aviation Administration reading their entries than pilots. Mechanics indicated they had little opportunity to follow up with pilots to clarify a logbook entry once pilots departed the aircraft.

Munro, Pamela A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Conflict Resolution Automation and Pilot Situation Awareness

This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts. The Concepts varied in terms of the allocation of traffic avoidance responsibility between the pilot on the flight deck, the air traffic controllers, and a conflict resolution automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to fully handle the responsibility of weather avoidance and maintaining separation between ownship and surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, pilots were not responsible for traffic separation, but were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but conflict detection tools were disabled. In this concept pilots were dependent on ground based automation for conflict detection and resolution. Situation awareness of the pilots was measured using online probes. Results showed that individual situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that for conflict resolution tasks, situation awareness is improved when pilots remain in the decision-making loop.

Dao, Arik-Quang V.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Estimation of Time-Varying Pilot Model Parameters

Human control behavior is rarely completely stationary over time due to fatigue or loss of attention. In addition, there are many control tasks for which human operators need to adapt their control strategy to vehicle dynamics that vary in time. In previous studies on the identification of time-varying pilot control behavior wavelets were used to estimate the time-varying frequency response functions. However, the estimation of time-varying pilot model parameters was not considered. Estimating these parameters can be a valuable tool for the quantification of different aspects of human time-varying manual control. This paper presents two methods for the estimation of time-varying pilot model parameters, a two-step method using wavelets and a windowed maximum likelihood estimation method. The methods are evaluated using simulations of a closed-loop control task with time-varying pilot equalization and vehicle dynamics. Simulations are performed with and without remnant. Both methods give accurate results when no pilot remnant is present. The wavelet transform is very sensitive to measurement noise, resulting in inaccurate parameter estimates when considerable pilot remnant is present. Maximum likelihood estimation is less sensitive to pilot remnant, but cannot detect fast changes in pilot control behavior.

Zaal, Peter M. T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Simulation Evaluation of Pilot Inputs for Real Time Modeling During Commercial Flight Operations

Aircraft dynamics characteristics can only be identified from flight data when the aircraft dynamics are excited sufficiently. A preliminary study was conducted into what types and levels of manual piloted control excitation would be required for accurate Real-Time Parameter IDentification (RTPID) results by commercial airline pilots. This includes assessing the practicality for the pilot to provide this excitation when cued, and to further understand if pilot inputs during various phases of flight provide sufficient excitation naturally. An operationally representative task was evaluated by 5 commercial airline pilots using the NASA Ice Contamination Effects Flight Training Device (ICEFTD). Results showed that it is practical to use manual pilot inputs only as a means of achieving good RTPID in all phases of flight and in flight turbulence conditions. All pilots were effective in satisfying excitation requirements when cued. Much of the time, cueing was not even necessary, as just performing the required task provided enough excitation for accurate RTPID estimation. Pilot opinion surveys reported that the additional control inputs required when prompted by the excitation cueing were easy to make, quickly mastered, and required minimal training.

Martos, Borja↗
NASA NTRS2015

Well Clear: General Aviation and Commercial Pilots' Perceptioin of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the National Airspace System

This research explored how different pilots perceived the concept of the Well Clear Boundary (WCB) and observed if that boundary changed when dealing with manned versus unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and the effects of other variables. Pilots' WCB perceptions were collected objectively through simulator recordings and subjectively through questionnaires. Objectively, significant differences were found in WCB perception between two pilot types (general aviation [GA], and Airline Transport Pilots [ATPs]), and significant WCB differences were evident when comparing two intruder types (manned versus unmanned aircraft). Differences were dependent on other manipulated variables (intruder approach angle, ownship speed, and background traffic levels). Subjectively, there were differences in WCB perception across pilot types; GA pilots trusted UAS aircraft higher than the more experienced ATPs. Conclusions indicate pilots' WCB mental models are more easily perceived as time-based boundaries in front of ownship, and more easily perceived as distance-based boundaries to the rear of ownship.

unmanned aerial systems↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Pilot Workload is Associated with Long Duty Days and Multiple Flight Legs

Pilot workload is a real concern throughout aviation, especially in short-haul operations due to short flights and multiple flight legs. Our goal was to examine the workload experienced by pilots during normal operations in a short-haul airline. Thirty pilots flew a roster consisting of a cycle of five days of mid-day start time duty hours with many flight legs (baseline block) followed by four days off, five early start time duty hours followed by three days off, five mid-day time starts with many legs followed by three days off and then five early start time followed by one day off. The pilots provided evaluations of workload by scoring the six subscales of NASA-TLX (i.e., Mental Demand, Performance, Physical Demand, Effort, Temporal Demand, and Frustration) on their duty days during each flight and once during rest days. The analyses included the raw TLX scores for each demand, the mean raw TLX, and the overall weighted TLX mean for duty days and rest days. We found that mental demand was significantly lower for each duty schedule and rest relative to baseline (early start 1st block p = 0.016, late duty p = 0.017, early start 2nd block p < 0.001, rest p < 0.001). Temporal demand was significantly lower than baseline on early duty 1st block (p = 0.02), early start 2nd block (p < 0.001), and rest (p < 0.001). Effort was significantly lower than baseline only during early start 1st block (p = 0.014) and early start 2nd block (p < 0.001). Frustration was significantly lower during early start 2nd block relative to baseline (p = 0. 039). Physical demand and performance were higher relative to baseline during rest days (p < 0.001). Mean raw TLX showed significantly lower workload for early start 1st block (p = 0.011) and early start 2nd block (p < 0.001). The overall weighted TLX showed significantly lower workload for early start 1st block (p = 0.004), early start 2nd block (p < 0.001) and rest (p < 0.001). We found that pilots experienced higher workload on longer duty days with multiple flight legs. Pilots experienced lower mental demand, temporal demand, and effort on short duty days even though when their duty started earlier in the day. During days off pilots experienced higher physical demand and higher performance.

short-haul↗
NASA NTRS2024

Interim Measures Pilot Study Completion Report, South Repeater Building, Solid Waste Management Unit 121, Hydraulic Containment and Groundwater Treatment System for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

This Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Interim Measures Pilot Study Completion Report was prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by AECOM Technical Services, Inc. under Contract 80KSC019D0010, Task Order 80KSC021F0096. The purpose of this report is to document the pilot study activities at the South Repeater Building, Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 121. This report details the additional assessment activities completed from June 2023 through November 2023 and the subsequent pilot study completed at the South Repeater Building conducted in December 2023 through February 2024. Initial activities were conducted in accordance with the Pilot Study Work Plan (NASA 2023), submitted to the KSC Remediation Team and accepted by the team on October 26, 2023. The objectives of the pilot study were to: • Provide information on aquifer characteristics and to aid in future modeling and remedial design activities to mitigate off-KSC migration of PFAS compounds. • Develop information on characteristics of the surficial aquifer system, specifically transmissivity, storage coefficient, hydraulic conductivity, and vertical hydraulic conductivity. • Obtain data to support construction and calibration of a groundwater flow model. • Acquire design parameters necessary for future remedial design activities, specifically radius of influence, drawdown, flow rates, and pump settings. The following activities were completed to meet the pilot study objectives: • Groundwater and surface water sampling • Geophysical investigation via Hydraulic Profiling Tool (HPT) and soil sampling • Installation of observation and extraction wells via rotosonic techniques • Slug, step, and pump testing activities • Initial modeling efforts for a groundwater hydraulic containment system. Results of the pilot study and modeling activities are being used in the development of a groundwater containment and treatment system for the site.

PFAS↗
NASA NTRS1978

Single pilot IFR operating problems determined from accidental data analysis

The accident reports examined were restricted to instrument rated pilots flying in IFR weather. A brief examination was made of accidents which occurred during all phases of flight and which were due to all causes. A detailed examination was made of those accidents which involved a single pilot which occurred during the landing phases of flight, and were due to pilot error. Problem areas found include: (1) landing phase operations especially final approach, (2) pilot weather briefings, (3) night approaches in low IFR weather, (4) below minimum approaches, (5) aircraft icing, (6) imprecise navigation, (7) descending below minimum IFR altitudes, (8) fuel mismanagement, (9) pilot overconfidence, and (10) high pilot workload especially in twins. Some suggested areas of research included: (1) low cost deicing systems, (2) standardized navigation displays, (3) low cost low-altitude warning systems, (4) improved fuel management systems, (5) improved ATC communications, (6) more effective pilot training and experience acquisition methods, and (7) better weather data dissemination techniques.

Forsyth, D. L.↗