Dissertation on "Aviation Accidents & Situational Awareness"

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The data made available to the brain in level 1 has to be now, analyzed, and inter-correlated to contribute to take decisions ensuring safe and successful operations. The accuracy and speed with which to respond to warning lights, for example are only one of the decisions the crew has to take to continue with or abandon taking-off. It is the experience that comes into play while taking decisions of such critical importance that differentiates the SA capabilities required of higher levels. A novice, for example may underestimate the available runway to carry on the take-off or on the hand may not fully comprehend the urgency of the warning lights, to begin with (Endsley, n.d.).

Level 3 SA - Projection of Future Status.

The most experienced of pilots have the capability of using the data, information and status of level 1, comprehending it to make insightful inter0play with the conditions without the aircraft systems and then anticipating the emerging conditions as relative to flight operations. The decisions to be made by the pilots and aircrew are largely dependent on this studied evaluation (Amalberti & Deblon, 1992). The evaluation and projection thus made empowers the pilots with sufficient time and knowledge to choose the appropriate decisions to meet their goals (Endsley, n.d.).

Situation Awareness Requirements

All the parameters that are enumerated in each of the three levels of SA are to be clearly understood for their importance and relevance. The data available, the inter-play between them and using these two attributes to dwell upon future possibilities as accurately as possible for the safe navigation of the aircraft are important with respect to the class of aircraft that the pilot is entrusted with, viz., military, civil or commercial. Each has its own degree of SA associated with it. However certain basic comprehension is common to all types and classes of aircrafts that pervade the skies (Endsley, n.d.).

Geographical SA - own position, aircraft in vicinity, parameters of the terrain, airfields, residential domains, directional attributes for movement; relative dimensional measures of objective locations; allotted pathways for landing; directions for destinations; takeoff and landing demarcations (Endsley, n.d).

Spatial/Temporal SA - directional paths, height above MSL, direction of movement, horizontal and vertical speed, G's, the path to be followed by the aircraft; licenses and permissions and alterations to the air-routes to be taken; aircraft capabilities; projected flight path; anticipated time of arrival to the airport (Endsley, n.d).

System SA - present attributes of environs of flight- man and machinery, functional parameters; RF settings, altitude and transponder data; presence of signals from the air traffic controllers; inaccuracies in the required data and information setting; setting parameters for functioning of automated responses; possible difficulties in maintaining safe flying emanating from mechanical/technical faults; fuel; estimated flying distance and duration available based on fuel reserves in the aircraft (Endsley, n.d; Dao et al., 2009).

Environmental SA - environmental conditions that affect the flight path and progress-weather attributes; temperature, snow and icing, physical limitations, cloud formations, fog, sun, clarity of vision into the distance, smoothness of flight or lack thereof, storms and wind speeds, minor and sudden upheavals; IFR vs. VFR conditions; terrain not conducive to smooth and safe flying; flight safety; anticipated environmental conditions in the course of flight. Military aircrafts have to take into cognizance a few more parameters relevant and vital to their safety and hence success (Endsley, n.d).

Tactical SA - discrimination and recognition, strategic position and condition, kind, wherewithal (range and power), positional and motional attributes of aircrafts in relevant vicinity; comparative capabilities as weighted against other aircrafts; identification and observation of aircraft, capacity to launch and aim at targets; perception of scale of threat, prioritization and schedules; present and anticipated threat probabilities, strategies, target shelling and flight control; schedule and conditions of mission tactics. Ascertaining appropriate SA requirements for a particular class of aircraft is a function of the motives of the pilots in that particular assignment. A proper set of guidelines for gaining SA requirements has been prepared and used for fighter planes (Endsley, 1993), bombers (Endsley, 1989), and ATC (Endsley and Rodgers, 1994)

A theoretical proposition has been developed to comprehend the various parameters and practices that influence situational awareness in all its complexity in aviation settings (Endsley, 1998; 1994; 1995c). A summary of the main features of the model are given. Major attention has to be given to the limitations of the human brain and the facets of working and retentive parts thereof. Improvements directed towards better utilization of long-term memory to stimulate actions by force of habit as in reflexive mechanism, processing of immediate data as in working memory to achievement of specific goals can be productive in extending the SA capabilities of the pilots (Endsley, n.d.). Though crucial, SA has not been fully understood as yet. It still remains one of the basic domains on which the success of complex and fast moving systems like ATC and flying aircrafts hinge (Nullmeyer et al. 2005; Craig, 2012). It is working memory part of the brain that keeps the transition movements of the aircraft relative to other parameters that actualizes the decision making in the dynamic and complex situation that the ATC faces on the ground (Garland et al., 1999). The 3D imaging that has been anticipated by the ATC personnel has been a point of many a study in the past. Improvements done on functioning of the WM should augur well for the improvement sought in SA capabilities. The ATC would then find it less challenging to face the dynamic and complex situations at hand (Van Der Merwe et al., 2012).

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

The rapid technological advances made in the field of aviation have made Situational awareness in human beings more important. The safety of the flights depends on the awareness capability shown to the conditions being shown by the instruments and panels. The significance of SA is now no longer restricted to the cockpit. It has extended to the ATC and maintenance sectors of aviation, too. In addition to aviation SA is now being given due importance in other fields that face dynamic conditions. (Salas & Dietz, 2011). To address the increasing importance in aviation, this review pays specific stress on the SA dimension of human operators it aims to minimize human errors in aviation sector. Situational awareness is broadly defined as the observation, assimilation and anticipation of dynamic and relevant parameters within a given timeframe (Endsley, 1988).Human Error, can be defined as the unlikely, undesired outcome of a planned action that is not caused because of any external factor.(Reason, 1990).though flying is now ( for almost five decades) considered to be one of the safest means of travel, accidents have kept occurring in aviation and human error has been a cause, directly or otherwise in majority of the cases.

Background

The single most dominant factor that causes mishaps and incidences in the aviation domain is that of human mistakes; those that directly affect the flying exercise and by consequence its safety, viz., the maintenance engineers and ATC personnel on the ground and the pilots and assistants in the cockpit. In… READ MORE