Human Factors Psychology Commons^™

Are Single-Pilot Operations An Advantage Or A Disadvantage?, Ezgi Berte Erme

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This study aims to investigate the potential benefits and drawbacks of Single-Pilot Operations (SPO) and to provide actionable insights for commercial airlines. A qualitative research design was employed, with data collected via online interviews and analyzed thematically and descriptively using MAXQDA 24. The findings indicate that pilots perceive several advantages of SPO, including the power of automation, learning artificial intelligence, minimizing human error, cockpit systems designed for artificial intelligence, more effective decision-making/speed-up in response time, reduced labor costs, reduced pilot fatigue, and reduced need for human factor/performance. Conversely, the perceived disadvantages include diminished lack of situational awareness, lack of communication …

Pilots’ Perceived Cognitive Functions: The Effect Of Mental Workload And Mindfulness On Prospective Memory Performance, Zehra Nur Kurtoğlu, Pınar Ünsal Bayrakçı

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Errors related to human factors remain a leading cause of aviation accidents, with many of these incidents being attributed to pilot performance. A key aspect of pilot performance might be prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember and execute future tasks at the appropriate time. The dynamic and high-demand environment of the cockpit presents significant challenges for pilots' PM, particularly due to high mental workload and the constant need for multitasking. This study investigates the impact of perceived mental workload as consisting of cognitive, emotional, temporal, and performance demands dimensions, and mindfulness on pilots' PM performance. A mindfulness scale specific …

The Role Of Cognitive Flexibility And Psychological Resilience In Enhancing Operational Performance Among Air Traffic Controllers, Seda Ceken

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of cognitive flexibility on psychological resilience among air traffic controllers (ATCOs). In the study using a quantitative research design, data were collected from a total of 217 ATCOs from three separate units (APP, ACC and TWR) via a survey. The relationship between cognitive flexibility and psychological resilience was examined using hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for demographic variables such as gender, experience, ATC unit and educational status. In the first stage of the analysis, these demographic factors were included in the model and their effects on psychological resilience were evaluated. The …

The Reasons For The Silence Of First Officers: A Qualitative Study, Seda Ceken, Pinar Unsal Bayrakci

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This study explores the reasons why first officers choose to remain silent in the cockpit or refrain from reporting errors after a flight. Effective communication and error reporting is crucial for flight safety, yet limited research has examined the factors contributing to silence among first officers. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 first officers (13 males, 6 females) working in the Turkish aviation sector. Data were collected through online Zoom interviews and analyzed using creative coding techniques in MAXQDA 22. Content analysis revealed 14 themes related to cockpit silence, including the captain’s manner, power distance, lack …

Non-Technical Skills Proficiency In Aviation Pilots: A Systematic Review, Seda Ceken

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This systematic review aims to examine the role of non-technical competencies in pilot selection and flight operations, and explore the methods used for their assessment. It has been discerned that relying solely on technical flying skills is insufficient for a pilot; there is a growing understanding that a pilot candidate must possess and adeptly employ non-technical skills, commonly referred to as Crew Resource Management (CRM) skills. This systematic review was designed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. For this review, a systematic search was conducted across seven databases. Seventeen publications were included in …

Fatigue Reporting In Hellenic Skies: Attitudes, Barriers And Insights From Military, Commercial And General Aviation Pilots, Panagiotis Kioulepoglou, Katerina M. David, Vassilios Nikolaidis, Ilias Makris

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Fatigue has long been a concern in aviation, especially today, with the ever-increasing traffic volume, pilot shortage, and operations that often disrupt the body’s natural biological rhythms. Despite the implementation of sophisticated fatigue reporting schemes, aviation organizations still face challenges, as many studies indicate that pilots often encounter barriers to effectively report their fatigue. As relevant research in Greece was scarce, the main objective of this study was to explore Greek pilots' attitudes towards fatigue reporting, identify the most significant barriers, and recommend mitigation measures based on the participants' perspectives. To that end, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed …

Factors Affecting Passengers’ Acceptance Of Single Pilot Operations: A Qualitative Study Conducted In Greece, Panagiotis Kioulepoglou, Ilias Makris

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Single Pilot Operations (SPO) have drawn significant attention during the last years, as a result of the increased dual flight crew expenses, and as a remedy to the impending pilot shortage which is estimated to manifest itself in the following years. The main objective of this study was to explore the factors that influence the Greek passengers’ acceptance of SPO. To that end, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through Thematic Analysis by combining both a priori and inductive coding procedures.

Qualitative findings of this process revealed seven factors influencing passengers’ intention to accept and fly with a SPO …

Cabin Crew Members’ Silence: A Qualitative Study With Cabin Attendants, Seda Ceken, Pinar Unsal

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Silence among flight crews has been one of the significant causes of aviation incidents and/or accidents. This study aims to explore why flight attendants remain silent during flights and/or do not report errors after the end of the flight. For this purpose, semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 21 flight attendants. The data were analyzed through content analysis using the MAXQDA 22 Qualitative Analysis Program. Themes and coding related to the research question were obtained by analyzing the scripts with creative coding techniques. Nine themes were identified by the content analysis, namely "poor relationship with cabin supervisors/pilots", "the lack of …

Interactions Of International Pilots' Stress, Fatigue, Symptoms Of Depression, Anxiety, Common Mental Disorders And Wellbeing, Marion Venus, Martin Grosse Holtforth

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective

This study Investigates more dimensions than previous studies simultaneously: pilots’ duty rosters, stress, sleep difficulties, fatigue levels, wellbeing, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and common mental disorders (CMD), and how they are interrelated.

Background

Several scientific studies have confirmed that fatigue can pose a significant risk to flight safety. Other studies reported positive depression screening results for more pilots, compared with the general population.

Method

A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 406 international pilots, who reported their duty rosters of the last two months. Pilots also self-assessed their stress-levels, sleep problems, fatigue, wellbeing, and mental health.

Results

Although pilots …

Fatigue In Aircraft Maintenance Technician Schools, Natalie Zimmermann, Peng Hao Wang, Keegan Pullen

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Fatigue has long been identified as a human factor in aviation. Subsequently, a series of studies have highlighted fatigue-related elements within the context of the aviation industry, focusing on the flight deck – with some extension to flight students – and aviation maintenance activities. However, the latter has not been as deeply examined as its flight crew-centered counterpart. Similarly – if not more significantly – fatigue experienced by aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) students is scarcely explored, especially in comparison to the research conducted to understand fatigue in flight schools. AMT students are subject to comparable, but not the same, experiences …

Comparison Of Schedules, Stress, Sleep Problems, Fatigue, Mental Health And Well-Being Of Low Cost And Network Carrier Pilots, Marion Venus

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective

This research investigates and compares working-conditions, duty rosters, stress, sleep problems, fatigue levels, mental health, and well-being of pilots working for network (NWCs), and low-cost carriers (LCCs). This study extends previous research by investigating working conditions, pilots’ actual rosters, fatigue and mental health of two groups of pilots flying for LCC or NWC.

Method

A comprehensive cross-sectional online survey was completed by N=338 pilots (185 NWC, 153 LCC pilots). All pilots reported their roster data of the last 2 months during peak flight season, psychosocial and work-related stress (e.g., high job insecurity, less total flight-experience, lower income, more time …

Emotional Intelligence And Safety Citizenship Among Army Aviators, Zachary T. Dugger, Bernadette Mccrory

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and safety citizenship among United States Army aviators. The study includes analysis of survey responses from 29 individual aviators. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between safety citizenship, emotional intelligence, and 15 emotional intelligence facets. Results indicate a significant association (F(1,28) = 15.45; p = 0.001) between safety citizenship and emotional intelligence, and between safety citizenship and 3 emotional intelligence facets: Adaptability (F(1,25) = 23.91; p < 0.001), Self Esteem (F(1,25) = 10.75; p = 0.003), and Optimism (F(1,25) = 8.71; p = …

Impact Of Electronic Flight Bag (Efb) On Single Pilot Performance And Workload, Saravanan Suppiah, Dahai Liu, Sang-A Lee, Andrew Dattel, Dennis Vincenzi Ph.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The increase of automation in the aviation industry poses challenges to human performance. To attest this point, studies about aircraft accidents reveal that pilots’ response to automated systems is not always coherent. Research findings suggest that pilots’ interaction with automated systems in highly demanding task situations results in an increase in workload, and if they are unable to resolve it in time, it will compromise flight safety. Therefore, in the interest to further explore the impact of automation on human factor constructs, the study aimed to investigate the impact of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on pilot workload. The study measured …

Examining The Impact Of Overhearing In-Flight Cell-Phone Calls On Passenger Safety, Tianhua Li, Brooke E. Wheeler, Debbie S. Carstens Ph.D., Pmp

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective: The study examined the effects of passengers’ conversations on adjacent passengers’ annoyance, attention to in-flight announcements, and performance on following instructions, which could lead to passengers’ injuries. Background: Some airlines have provided services to enable in-flight cell-phone calls. However, passengers’ compliance with safety instructions is essential. Previous research demonstrated that cell-phone calls led to higher levels of distractions than face-to-face dialogues, and people were more annoyed with one-sided conversations, such as most cell-phone conversations. Method: Twenty-four participants took 30-minute simulated flights in a laboratory room. Three announcements, which instructed participants to fasten seatbelts, raise tray tables, and check seatbelts, …

Collegiate Aviation Pilots: Analyses Of Fatigue Related Decision-Making Scenarios, Julius Keller, Flavio Coimbra Mendonca Mr, Jason E. Cutter

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

According to Dawson and McCulloch (2005), indicating factors for pilot fatigue may be difficult to ascertain. However, fatigue is a probable cause in 15%-20% of all aircraft accidents (Akerstedt, 2000). It may be assumed fatigue has been important latent condition for many of the general aviation incidents and or accidents but not necessarily identified as a probable cause. Events that barely missed a detrimental situation due to fatigue, often go unnoticed and or unreported. Furthermore, fatigue can influence the quality of flight instruction and flight operations overall. The purpose of the current paper was to examine fatigue related decision-making responses …

A Trust In Air Traffic Controllers (T-Atc) Scale, Bradley S. Baugh, Scott R. Winter

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Trust is a concept that cannot be easily measured. Further, trust is domain-specific. Trust is a foundational aspect of safe flight operations in the National Airspace System, and while there has been much attention to trust in teams and trust in automation, there appears to be a gap in knowledge of a pilot’s trust in air traffic controllers. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Trust in Air Traffic Controllers (T-ATC) scale, a summative scale to measure a pilot’s trust in air traffic controllers. This study followed a three-step methodology. In steps one and two, words …

Difference In Attitudes Toward Crew Resource Management Based On Nationality, Christoph Zurman, Herbert O. Hoffmann, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The E-3A Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft operates with multinational crewmembers from 15 different nations on 12 different aircrew positions. Given this non-standard cultural environment, the authors explored the differences in the attitude toward Crew Resource Management (CRM), based on nationality, and how these differences could be used as a predictor for other nationalities attitudes. The potential benefit of this study may be, that CRM methods could be developed further to either work universally, independent to national or cultural backgrounds, or be adjusted for different cultural contexts in order to be even more effective. Primary data was gathered …

Modeling Oculomotor Variability During Slow Cabin Decompression Using Infrared Technology, Jennifer E. Thropp, Paul W. Buza

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Slow cabin decompression is highly perilous due to its gradual and thus generally inconspicuous nature. In an applied approach to studying its effects upon oculomotor performance, experienced pilots performed a simulated flight task during slow decompression inside a high-altitude chamber while an infrared-based head-mounted eye-tracker measured oculomotor and pupillary changes at approximately 5% decrements in blood oxygen saturation. Saccade angle, saccade duration, saccadic velocity, microsaccade rate, fixation duration, and pupil diameter varied systematically in response to manipulation of blood oxygen saturation level, including recovery upon return to normoxia. Changes in these oculomotor variables can serve as biomarkers for early hypoxia …

Design Of Revising Proximity Between Space And Time Cues On Flight Deck Displays To Support Nextgen – The First Phase, Chang-Geun Oh, Jennie J. Gallimore, Pamela S. Tsang

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate novel display formats to support RTA operations for near to midterm NextGen. Traditional cockpit displays separate space and time information in distant display sources in heterogeneous formats (graphics vs. text). This design composition may cause potential pilot errors when required time of arrival (RTA) obligations are imposed at every waypoint in NextGen. Pilots were randomly assigned to four different display conditions in a simulator – one traditional display with distant space and time cues, and three novel displays with close spatial proximity between the two cues. In the first phase …

Design Of Revising Proximity Between Space And Time Cues On Flight Deck Displays To Support Nextgen – The Second Phase, Chang-Geun Oh, Jennie J. Gallimore, Pamela S. Tsang

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The prior first phase of this study investigated the effectiveness of new design of flight deck display for required time of arrival operation of NextGen by collecting objective query response data during autopilot flights and subjective data about the perception between display condition and situation awareness level. To evaluate pilots’ mental workload during the operations when they interacted with novel flight deck display design, this second phase provided pilots with simulation flight tasks arriving at four successive waypoints on time in the same display conditions as the first phase and asked them to rate their mental workload ratings. The workload …