Details:

Corporate Creators:
National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Human Factors in Air Traffic Control Automation
Contributors:
Wickens, Christopher D. ; Mavor, Anne S. ; McGee, James P.
Wickens, Christopher D. ; Mavor, Anne S. ; McGee, James P. Less -
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Air Traffic Control Automation Aviation Safety Human Factors National Airspace System Recommendations Studies United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21949/1403345
Resource Type:
In Book
Right Statement:
National Academy of Sciences
Geographical Coverage:
United States
TRIS Online Accession Number:
00742299
ISBN:
0309056373
Corporate Publisher:
National Academy Press
NTL Classification:
NTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic Control;NTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human Factors;
Abstract:
The nation's air traffic control system is responsible for managing a complex

mixture of air traffic from commercial, general, corporate, and military

aviation. Despite a strong safety record, the system does suffer occasional

serious disruption, often the result of outdated and failed equipment. When

equipment failures occur, system safety relies on the skills of controllers and

pilots. Under these circumstances, safety is maintained by reducing the number

of aircraft in the air. Pressures to provide the capacity to handle a greater

number of flights in the future and to maintain high levels of safety and

efficiency have led to proposals to provide more reliable and powerful equipment

and at the same time increase the level of automation in air traffic control

facilities-that is, to use advances in technology to take over tasks that are

currently performed by humans. Such proposals have raised concern that

automation not compromise the safety or efficiency of the system by

marginalizing the human controller's ability to provide the necessary backup

when disruptions occur. The Panel on Human Factors in Air Traffic Control

Automation was convened at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) for the purposes of gaining an understanding of, and providing

recommendations on, the human factors characteristics of the current air

traffic control system, the national airspace system, and future automation

alternatives in terms of the human's role in the system. The panel's charge

divides the tasks into two phases. The first focuses on the current system and

its development as a means to: (1) understand the complexities of and problems

with the current air traffic control system that automation is intended to

address; (2) describe the manner in which some levels of automation have already

been implemented; and (3) provide a baseline of human factors knowledge as it

relates to the functions of the air traffic controller in the system. The

second phase is to assess future automation alternatives and the role of the

human operator in ensuring safety and efficiency in the air traffic control

system. This report provides the results of the panel's work during the first

phase. The link in this record leads to the frontal material of the study,

Flight to the Future: Human Factors in Air Traffic Control. By clicking on the

Document Homepage button at the end of the web page, the viewer is taken to a

page which offers ordering information for the hardcopy book of the study (384p.)

and a link to the left to a hypertext Table of Contents from which the viewer

can select portions to read as desired on-line.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:9d8a0e131c4591085744b24262b0c3b9e8c60a489bacaa3a928780d6c396d3aa
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/12829/dot_12829_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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