In-Flight Decision Making By High Time and Low Time Pilots during Instrument Operations
Abstract
This study examined decision-making in high and low-time pilots (n=26) on a simulated IFR cross-country flight using MIDIS 3.0, a microcomputer- based flight-decision simulator. When confronted with situations which could endanger the safety and/or efficiency of the flight, it was hypothesized that high-time pilots would recognize the cues relevant to the problem, pattern match these cues with a situational schemata, or script, from long term memory (LTM), and choose to execute their first workable solution. It was hypothesized that low-time pilots would also attempt the same decision-making strategy, but because of their smaller experiential repertoires would fail to make a pattern match in LTM. It was posited that novices then are forced to use a utility strategy in which they must integrate cues with declarative knowledge, generate alternatives, evaluate outcomes, and finally choose the alternative calculated to bring the most utility. The difference in strategies was hypothesized to lead high-time pilots to choose more optimal solutions. The results clearly show that high-time pilots decision optimality is significantly better than low-time pilots.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA249990
Entities
People
- Kenneth L. Kemper
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology