NASA Project -

Training for Automation Use

The availability of increasingly sophisticated technology, as well as changes in the National Airspace, will encourage the use of automation in all aircraft operations - commercial, commuter, corporate, and general aviation. Much of the research that has been done thus far on automation-related issues and problems has focused on commercial aviation, and automation training programs have typically assumed a high level of flying. As automated aids and decision-support systems become more prevalent in smaller aircraft, such as those utilized in regional carrier operations, attention must be paid to the impact of automation for these pilots, and to the special training paradigms necessary to teach the safe and effective use of automation in these arenas.

This work focuses on training implications and requirements for pilots who are transitioning to automated aircraft. The grant was funded by NASA’s Aviation Safety Program. We conducted an analysis of Aviation Safety Reporting System incidents, to discern factors involved in actual automation-related errors and events. We also conducted a paper-and-pencil scenario-based study, using pilots in an east-coast regional air carrier as participants. Again, we were looking at factors involved in automation use and automation errors in decision making. We have conducted interviews to gather information on current training practices in regional airlines. Our most recent study was an internet-based scenario study investigating information use and decision-making processes of regional airline pilots.

In conjunction with this project, we are also looking at cognitive factors in the use of automation for decision making - specifically, we are using meta-theories of coherence / correspondence and the Cognitive Continuum Theory (Ken Hammond, University of Colorado) to investigate how pilots use information inside and outside of the cockpit to make decisions.

Papers