Glass Cockpits: Pilots FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION for Everyone Concerned Flight Safety Digest with the Safety of Flight Vol
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FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION JUNE–AUGUST 1999 FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST SPECIAL ISSUE Transition to Glass: Pilot Training for High-technology Transport Aircraft Advanced-technology Aircraft Safety Survey Report ’ Perspectives Glass Cockpits: Pilots FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION For Everyone Concerned Flight Safety Digest With the Safety of Flight Vol. 18 No. 6–8 June–August 1999 Officers and Staff Stuart Matthews Chairman, President and CEO In This Issue Board of Governors Transition to Glass: Pilot Training for Robert H. Vandel 1 Executive Vice President High-technology Transport Aircraft James S. Waugh Jr. Treasurer Advanced-technology Aircraft Safety Carl Vogt 137 General Counsel and Secretary Survey Report Board of Governors ADMINISTRATIVE U.S. Aviation Incident Rates Decline for Nancy Richards Large Carriers in 1998 217 Executive Secretary Ellen Plaugher FAA data also show a small increase in incident rates for Executive Assistant–Corporate Services commuter air carriers and a decrease in the incident rate for FINANCIAL air taxi aircraft. Elizabeth Kirby Controller FAA Publishes Information for Airports TECHNICAL Regarding Disabled Individuals 221 James Burin Director of Technical Programs Advisory circular identifies relevant U.S. statutes and Joanne Anderson regulations. Technical Assistant Ann Hill Hydraulic System Failure Cited in Manager of Seminars and Workshops 225 Robert H. Gould Airplane’s Collision with Jetway Managing Director of Aviation Safety Audits and Internal Evaluation Programs Robert Feeler Manager of Aviation Safety Audits Robert Dodd, Ph.D. Manager, Data Systems and Analysis MEMBERSHIP Ahlam Wahdan Assistant to the Director of Marketing and Development PUBLICATIONS Roger Rozelle Director of Publications Mark Lacagnina Senior Editor Wayne Rosenkrans Senior Editor Linda Werfelman Senior Editor John D. Green About the cover: A Boeing 757 is shown on takeoff. The advanced-technology aircraft Copyeditor has a highly automated flight-management system and an electronic flight instrument Karen K. Ehrlich system. (Illustration by FSF Production Staff) Production Coordinator Ann L. Mullikin Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an international membership organization Production Designer dedicated to the continuous improvement of flight safety. Nonprofit and Susan D. Reed independent, FSF was launched in 1945 in response to the aviation industry’s Production Specialist need for a neutral clearinghouse to disseminate objective safety information, and for a credible and knowledgeable body that would identify threats to David A. Grzelecki safety, analyze the problems and recommend practical solutions to them. Librarian, Jerry Lederer Aviation Safety Library Since its beginning, the Foundation has acted in the public interest to produce positive influence on aviation safety. Today, the Foundation provides leadership Jerome Lederer to more than 700 member organizations in 80 countries. President Emeritus Foreword This special issue of Flight Safety Digest presents two reports on the experiences of pilots who fly aircraft with “glass cockpits” — that is, modern aircraft with highly automated flight management systems and electronic flight instrument systems. The reports sample the views of line pilots regarding the advantages and disadvantages of flying these advanced-technology aircraft. The reports resulted from studies conducted by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI). The NASA study used data obtained from surveys of approximately 100 pilots at a major U.S. airline. The surveys were conducted in three phases: during the first day of training to operate an advanced-technology aircraft; approximately three months to four months after the transition training; and approximately 12 months to 14 months after the pilots’ initial operating experience in the aircraft. The BASI report used data obtained from a survey of 1,268 airline pilots flying advanced-technology aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region. Flight Safety Foundation provides these reports to the aviation community in an effort to ensure wide distribution of useful information on training for, and operation of, advanced-technology aircraft, which are key issues in aviation safety worldwide. — FSF Editorial Staff FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION • FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST • JUNE–AUGUST 1999 i Transition to Glass: Pilot Training for High-technology Transport Aircraft Earl L. Wiener University of Miami Rebecca D. Chute Raytheon ITSS Corporation Ames Research Center John H. Moses University of Miami FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION • FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST • JUNE–AUGUST 1999 1 Contents Summary.....................................................................................................................................................................4 I. Background to the Study ..................................................................................................................................5 A. Continental Airlines — Summer of 1993..................................................................................................5 B. A Brief History of Continental ..................................................................................................................5 C. The High-technology Cockpit ...................................................................................................................6 II. Training for Glass .......................................................................................................................................... 10 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 10 B. Research Methods in Flight Training ..................................................................................................... 12 C. Difficulties in Transition Training Programs ......................................................................................... 14 D. Training Considerations ......................................................................................................................... 16 E. Conclusions............................................................................................................................................. 20 III. Study Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 21 A. Basic Questions and Premises ................................................................................................................ 21 B. Questionnaires: Attitude Scales, Demography and Flying Experience ................................................. 23 C. Other Sources of Information ................................................................................................................. 25 IV. Characteristics of the Volunteer Cohort......................................................................................................... 25 A. Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 25 B. Phase 1 Data ........................................................................................................................................... 27 C. Phase 2 Data ........................................................................................................................................... 32 D. Phase 3 Data ........................................................................................................................................... 34 V. Analysis of Questionnaire Data ..................................................................................................................... 36 A. Methods of Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 36 B. Phase 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 36 C. Phase 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 39 D. Comparison of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Attitude Results............................................................................41 E. Phase 3 .................................................................................................................................................... 42 F. Comparison of Phase 2 and Phase 3 Attitude Results............................................................................43 VI. Open-ended Questions and Responses .......................................................................................................... 44 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 44 B. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 44 C. Open-ended Responses ........................................................................................................................... 45 D. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 64 VII. Crew Resource