Automation in General Aviation: Two Studies of Pilot Responses to Autopilot Malfunctions

Beringer, Dennis B.; Harris, Howard C.

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Automation in General Aviation: Two Studies of Pilot Responses to Autopilot Malfunctions

1997-12-01
By Beringer, Dennis B. ; Harris, Howard C.

File Language:

English

Details

Creators:

Beringer, Dennis B. ; Harris, Howard C.
Corporate Creators:

United States. Office of Aerospace Medicine
Corporate Contributors:

Civil Aeromedical Institute ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration
Subject/TRT Terms:
Publication/ Report Number:

DOT/FAA/AM-97/24
Resource Type:

Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:

Oklahoma ; United States
Edition:

Final Report
Corporate Publisher:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration
Abstract:

Study 1 examined four automation-related malfunctions (runaway pitch-trim up, roll servo failure, roll sensor failure, pitch drift up) and subsequent pilot responses. Study 2 examined four additional malfunctions; two more immediately obvious (runaway pitch-trim down, runaway roll servo) and two subtler (failed attitude indicator, pitch sensor drift down) than those in Study 1, and the effect of an auditory warning. Data collection was performed in the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's Advanced General Aviation Research Simulator, configured as a Piper Malibu. Results suggest that maladaptive responses to some of these failures may, in a significant percentage of cases, lead to significant altitude loss, overstress of the airframe, disorientation of the pilot, or destruction of the aircraft. Percentages of successful recoveries, detection/correction times, and related indices of performance are discussed in the context of malfunction type, flight profile, and auditory alerts.
Format:

PDF
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/40208/dot_40208_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.06 MB]
Collection(s):

FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:97f0b7b812fe65eefa2614bf3a55f1aee6d822bc2119c6c6d49ea26f9bcebf09

File Language:

English

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