ATO-P R&D
Human Factors Research and Engineering Group
Human Factors Newsletter # 07- 15
July 28, 2007 – August 10, 2007
Sign Up for this Newsletter bill.ctr.berger @faa.gov Search Past Newsletters http://www.hf.faa.gov/newsletter.htm
Articles in this newsletter:
Evaluation of Storm Forecast Displays for Air Traffic Control
Availability and Operational Use of Weather Information by En Route and Terminal
Controllers
Flight Attendant Fatigue
Weather Research
R&D Director Position Announced
Calendar
Technical Note:
Ahlstrom, U., & Friedman-Berg, F. (2007). Evaluation of Storm Forecast Displays for Air
Traffic Control. International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies. 7(1), 83-105. (Not yet
published)
Abstract
Adverse weather has a major impact on safety and operational efficiency during terminal
air traffic operations. To mitigate these effects, researchers have suggested displaying
weather information on controller displays. In the present study, we used simulation data
to evaluate air traffic controllers’ use of static and dynamic storm forecast displays that
provided information about the direction of storm motion and future extrapolated positions
(10-20 minutes). By analyzing eye-movement recordings, we made an assessment about
controller fixation and scan path (a series of fixations and saccades) behavior. We found
that the use of dynamic storm forecast displays significantly reduced controller scan path
areas, scan path distances, and scan path durations compared to the static display, indicating
greater efficiency of eye movements in the dynamic condition. In addition, the
mean pupil diameter was significantly larger for controllers during the use of the static
display compared to the dynamic display, indicating a higher visual and cognitive workload
during the static condition. We discuss issues with displaying weather and traffic data on
controller displays, as well as possible ways to improve storm forecast displays for tactical
use.
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This research activity supports the Administrator’s Flight Plan Goal for Greater Capacity,
Objective 2: Increase reliability and on-time performance of scheduled carriers.
Point of Contact: U. Ahlstrom, ATO-P R&TD
Technical Note:
Ahlstrom, U. (2007). Availability and Operational Use of Weather Information by En Route and
Terminal Controllers (DOT/FAA/TC-TN-07/01). Atlantic City International Airport, NJ: FAA,
William J. Hughes Technical Center. (Not yet published)
Abstract
Future air traffic control concepts include many new roles and responsibilities among controllers,
air traffic management, pilots, and flight dispatchers. An important aspect of future concepts
specifically aims at mitigating operational constraints caused by adverse weather conditions.
Therefore, it is important to evaluate the current weather information available to these operators
to assess future weather requirements for National Airspace System operations and safety. In the
present paper, I compare and contrast the procedural requirements in Federal Aviation
Administration Order 7110.65R that en route and terminal controllers follow when they use
weather-related information. I summarize what weather information is available at the controller
workstation and outline how controllers use this information operationally.
This research activity supports the Administrator’s Flight Plan Goal for Greater Capacity,
Objective 2: Increase reliability and on-time performance of scheduled carriers.
Point of Contact: U. Ahlstrom, ATO-P R&TD)
Technical Note:
Nesthus, T, Schroeder, D, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI); Connors, M., Rentmeister-
Bryant, H., DeRoshia, C., NASA Ames Research Center. Flight Attendant Fatigue
(DOT/FAA/AM-07/21).Oklahoma City, OK: FAA, Civil Aerospace Medical Center.
Abstract
The Departments of Transportation and Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill
(House Rpt. 108-671) included a directive to the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a
study of flight attendant fatigue. The NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures
Group (FCG) was contracted by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute to conduct the study. To
meet the goals of the study, this report contains a literature review on fatigue as potentially
experienced by flight attendants, an evaluation of currently used (actual vs. scheduled) flight
attendant duty schedules, and a comparison of these schedules to the current CFRs. The report
additionally reviews fatigue-related incident/accident information from the Aviation Safety
Reporting System (ASRS) and the NTSB database. One report section describes the application
of three different performance and fatigue models to assess how flight attendant duty schedules
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contribute to increased levels of fatigue and predicted changes in performance. The report
concludes with six recommendations concerning issues that require further evaluation, including:
(1) Survey of Field Operations - To assess the frequency with which fatigue is experienced, the
situations in which it appears, and the consequences; (2) Focused Study of Incident Reports - To
better understand details of the incidents; (3) Field Research on the Effects of Fatigue - To
explore physiological and neuropsychological effects of fatigue, sleepiness, circadian factors,
and rest schedules on flight attendants; (4) Validation of Models for Assessing Flight Attendant
Fatigue - An important step to understanding whether and how models could be used in
conjunction with field operations; (5) International Carrier Policies and Practices Review - To
learn how other countries address these issues and with what results; and (6) Training - Flight
Attendants could benefit from information on fatigue, its causes and consequences, its interaction
with circadian disruption, and how and when to employ countermeasures (e.g., scheduled naps,
physical activity, social interaction, caffeine).
This research activity supports the Administrator’s Flight Plan Goal for Increased Safety,
Objective 1: Reduce the commercial airline fatal accident rate.
Point of Contact: T. Nesthus, CAMI
Weather Research: The FAA (Human Factors Research and Engineering Group) is awarding a
cooperative research grant to the University of Wisconsin. This project addresses the FAA Flight
Plan goal to reduce general aviation (GA) fatalities and a requirement to develop Advanced
Weather Simulations. Weather-related accidents, particularly those due to visual flight rules
(VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), are associated with the highest
fatality rate in GA. Previous research indicates that accidents related to VFR flight into IMC
often involve low-time or inexperienced pilots that lack the appropriate skills to properly plan
VFR cross-country flights, effectively assess changes in weather during flight, appropriately
evaluate risks of continuing flight into adverse weather, or safely avoid/exit IMC when it is
encountered. These findings point to a need to reevaluate weather-related instruction currently
provided to pilots during ab initio training, the strategies and tools currently available to certified
flight instructors to provide weather instruction, and the current manner in which weather
knowledge and flight skills are tested and evaluated, including practical test standards. The goals
of this research project are to: (1) conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of weather-
related flight training, testing and standards for GA pilots using criteria derived from the analysis
of factors known to contribute to VFR flight into IMC accidents, and (2) develop advanced flight
simulation scenarios, based on known VFR flight into IMC accident profiles, to empirically
train, test and evaluate the skills of VFR-only pilots in applying basic weather knowledge.
Results of this project will inform decision-makers about how best to redesign flight training,
testing and currency requirements in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the flight simulation
scenarios developed as part of this project will provide an innovative tool for systematically
training and assessing pilots’ weather-related decision making skills, as well as evaluating the
impact of new intervention programs. This research activity supports the Administrator’s Flight
Plan Goal for Increased Safety, Objective 2: Reduce the number of fatal accidents in general
aviation. (T. McCloy, ATO-P R&TD)
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More information on human factors research can be found at
the FAA Human Factors (ATOP-R&D) web site: http://www.hf.faa.gov
Terry Allard
FAA (ATO-P R&TD Human Factors and
Engineering Group)
August 17-20, 2007 - 112th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San
Francisco, California www.apa.org/convention
August 19-22, 2007 –ASCE 29th International Air Transport Conference, Irving, TX
http://www.airportbusiness.com/online/calendar/
August 20-23, 2007 - AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference and Exhibit,
Hilton Head, NC http://www.aiaa.org/
August 20-23: ATO Leadership Summit, Washington, DC.
http://atoexperience.faa.gov/summit/
August 20-24, 2007 - CONTEXT ’07: Sixth International and Interdisciplinary Conference on
Modeling and Using Context, Roskilde University, Denmark. Henning Christiansen, +45 4674
3832, fax +45 4674 3072, henning@ruc.dk, http://context-07.ruc.dk.
August 23-26, 2007 - 2007 World Conference of Stress, Budapest, Hungary www.stress07.com
August 25-27, 2007 – 129th National Guard Association of the United States General
Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico http://www.ngaus.org/
August 27-31, 2007 - 18th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time,
Yeppoon QLD, Australia http://shiftwork.cqu.edu.au/index2.htm
September 3-6, 2007 – Building Simulation 2007, Beijing, China http://www.bs2007.org.cn/
September 4-6, 2007 - 10th IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IEA Symposium, Seoul, Korea. Ergonomics
Society of Korea, Min Cheol Whang, +82 2 2287 5293, esk@smu.ac.kr.
September 6-7, 2007: 19th Annual FAA-ATA Symposium on Human Factors in Maintenance
and Ramp Safety, Orlando Airport Hyatt. For more information contact john.j.hiles@faa.gov.
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September 6-7, 2007 - Unmanned Systems International 2007
http://www.auvsi.org/symposium/2006/specialevents.cfm
September 9-12, 2007 – SPIE Optics-East, Boston, MA http://spie.org/optics-east.xml
September 11-15, 2007: The Ninety-Nines, Inc. 2007 International Conference, Denver, CO,
http://www.ninety-nines.org/conference.html .
September 12-13, 2007 – Aero-Engine Expo, London, England
http://www.amtonline.com/calendar/
September 17-19, 2007 – NASVP 14th Annual Conference on Technology Innovation, Little
Rock, AR http://www.nasvf.org/nasvf/web.nsf/pages/achome.html
September 17-20, 2007 – SAE AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.sae.org/events/conferences/aerospace/
September 18-20, 2007 – 7th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration and Operations
Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=1
September 19, 2007: Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee Meeting,
FAA HQ. Please contact gloria.dunderman@faa.gov for additional information.
September 19-22, 2007 - Beijing Aviation Expo 2007 , China International Exposition Centre,
Beijing, China
September 23-24, 2007 – NBAA Aviation Resource Management, Atlanta, GA www.nbaa.org
September 25-27, 2007 - NBAA 60th Annual Meeting and Convention, Atlanta, GA
http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/amc/futuresites.php
September 25-27, 2007 - AIAA 6th Aviation, Technology, Integration, and Operations
Conference , Hyatt Regency, Wichita, KS
September 26-29, 2007 – Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Fall Meeting, Renaissance
Hollywood Hotel, Los Angeles, CA http://www.bmes.org/meetings.asp
September 30-October 3, 2007: Airport Council International North America's Annual
Conference and Exhibition, Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, MO, www.aci-na.org
October 4-6, 2007 - AOPA Expo 2007, Hartford, CN http://www.aopa.org/expo/
October 1-3, 2007 - 3rd Annual Augmented Cognition International Society Conference,
Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with HFES 51st Annual Meeting,
http://www.augmentedcognition.org
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October 1-4, 2007 – 60th Annual International Air Safety Seminar, The Grand Hilton, Seoul,
Korea http://www.flightsafety.org/seminars.html
October 1-5, 2007 – Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore
Waterfront Marriott Hotel, Baltimore, MD
http://www.hfes.org/web/HFESMeetings/meetings.html
October 14-17, 2007 - Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE) 38th Annual Conference,
Toronto, Canada. Margo Fraser, Association of Canadian Ergonomists, 105-150 Crowfoot
Crescent NW, Ste. 1003, Calgary, AB T3G 3T2 Canada, 403/219-4001, fax 403/451-1503,
margo@ace-ergocanada.ca, http://www.ace-ergocanada.ca.
October 14-17, 2007 – LES 2007 Annual Meeting – Licensing and Technology Transfer,
Vancouver, Canada http://www.usa-canada.les.org/meetings/2007annual/
October 15-17, 2007 – Cargo Facts 2007, Seattle, WA
http://www.airportbusiness.com/online/calendar/
October 17-21, 2007 - Society for Physiology Research, 47th Annual Meeting
Savannah, Georgia http://www.sprweb.org
October 18-19, 2007 – SSTI 11th Annual Conference on Innovation, Baltimore, MD
http://www.ssti.org/conference07.htm
October 21-25, 2007 – 26th DASC, Adam’s Mark Hotel, Dallas, TX
http://www.dasconline.org/technical.htm
October 22-24, 2007 – MARPA 7th Annual Conference, Mesa, AZ http://www.pmamarpa.com/
October 22-25, 2007 – Bombardier-NBAA Safety Stand Down, Wichita, KS
http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/
October 24-26, 2007 – EUROCONTROL Annual Safety R&D Seminar, Rome, Italy
paul.humphreys@eurocontrol.int or Veronique.begault@eurocontrol.int
October 28-31, 2007 – 52nd Annual ATCA Conference & Exposition, Marriott Wardman Park,
Wash., DC http://www.atca.org/home.asp
October 28-November 1, 2007 – IEEE Vis2007, Sacramento, CA
http://vis.computer.org/vis2007/
October 28 – November 1, 2007 – 26th Annual Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers
Association Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ www.adma.org
October 28 – November 1, 2007 – Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Aviation
Lighting Expo/Conference, Chicago, IL http://www.airportbusiness.com/online/calendar/
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October 29-31, 2007 - 45th Annual SAFE Symposium, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino Hotel,
Reno, NV. SAFE Association, P.O. Box 130, Creswell, OR 97426-0130, 541/895-3012, fax
541/895-3014, safe@peak.org, http://www.safeassociation.org.
October 29-November 1, 2007 - Fifth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety
Research Conference, Atlantic City, New Jersey. http://www.fire.tc.faa.gov
October 29 – November 1, 2007 – 60th Annual Flight Safety Foundation International Air
Safety Seminar, Taipei, Taiwan, China http://www.flightsafety.org/seminars.html#iass
November 5-7, 2007 – ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, Newport
Beach, CA http://www.ics.uci.edu/computerscience/vrst/index.php
November 5-7, 2007 - DUX 2007 – Conference on Designing for User Experience, Chicago, IL.
http://www.dux2007.org
November 5-8, 2007 – DoD TAG, Houston, TX http://hfetag.dtic.mil/meetschl.html
November 6-9, 2007 – NDIA Aircraft Survivability 2007, Naval Postgraduate School,
Monterey, CA http://ndia.org/
November 12-15, 2007 – 7th Annual CMMI Technology Conference and User Group, Hyatt
Regency, Denver, CO http://ndia.org/
November 12-16, 2007 - 2007 AAAS Leadership Seminar in Science & Technology Policy,
Wash, DC http://www.aaas.org/spp/leadership
November 13-16, 2007 – DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition, Rosen Shingle Creek,
Orlando, FL http://www.sae.org/events/conferences/aerospace/
November 17-19, 2007 - SJDM Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA. Society for Judgment and
Decision Making, http://www.sjdm.org
November 26-28, 2007 – 3rd International Symposium on Visual Computing, Lake Tahoe, NV
http://www.isvc.net/
November 28-30, 2007: 4th Annual FAA International Safety Forum, Chantilly, VA.
http://www.faa.gov/news/conferences_events/2007safetyforum/
December 5-6, 2007 – NDIA Systems Engineering Annual Strategic Planning and Division
Meeting, San Francisco, CA bbommelje@ndia.org
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January 7-10, 2008 – 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV
http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=1
January 13-17, 2008: Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting, Wash, DC.
http://www.trb.org/meeting/
January 20-23, 2008 – ASHRAE Winter Meeting, New York City, NY
http://www.ashrae.org/events/page/1334
January 22-24, 2008 – AHR Expo, New York City, NY http://www.ahrexpo.com/
February 4-7, 2008 – SAE G-10, Melbourne, FL dlloyd@sae.org
February 25-28, 2008 – NDIA 24th Annual Test & Evaluation Conference, Palm Springs, CA
mgeary@ndia.org
February 27-28, 2008 – NBAA Leadership Conference, San Antonio, TX
http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/
February 27-29, 2008 - AUVSI Unmanned Systems Program Review 2008, Omni Shoreham,
Wash, DC http://www.auvsi.org/symposium/2006/specialevents.cfm
March 5-6, 2008 – Avionics 2008, Amsterdam, Netherlands http://www.avionics-event.com/
March 10-13, 2008 – NBAA 35th Annual International Operators Conference, San Antonio, TX
http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/
March 12-15, 2008 - 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. hri2008@hri2008.org, http://www.hri2008.org
March 13-15, 2008 – ARSA 2008 Annual Repair Symposium, Crystal City, VA www.arsa.org
March 17-19, 2008 - 3rd IASTED International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
(IASTED-HCI 2008), Innsbruck, Austria. http://www.iasted.org/conferences/cfp.html
March 17-20, 2008 – NATA FBO Leadership Conference, Dallas, TX
http://www.nata.aero/events/index.jsp
March 18-20, 2008 – PAMA Aviation Maintenance Symposium and Aviation Industry
Exposition, Dallas, TX www.pama.org/
March 19-21, 2008 - ODAM 2008, Sao Paulo, Brazil. patricia.monteiro@vanzolini.org.br,
http://www.prd.usp.br/odam2008/call_for_papers/odam_2008_english.html.
April 8-11, 2008 - 8th International Symposium of the Australian Aviation Psychology
Association, Sydney, Australia http://www.aavpasymposium.org
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April 14-17, 2008 – SAE World Congress, Detroit, MI http://www.sae.org/congress/
April 14-17, 2008 – AMC 2008, 59th Annual Meeting, Tulsa Marriott Southern Hills, OK
http://www.aviation-ia.com/amc/upcoming/index.html
April 22-24, 2008 –World and Regional Aviation Training Conference & Tradeshow, Orlando,
FL http://www.halldale.com/WRATS.aspx
May 5-8, 2008 – 2008 JSEM Conference & Exhibition, Colorado Convention Centre, Denver,
CO http://ndia.org/
May 9-14, 2008 – Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting, Grande Hotel, Naples, FL
http://www.visionsciences.org/
May 11-15, 2008 - 79th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association,
Boston, MA http://www.asma.org/meeting/index.php
May 20-22, 2008 - 8th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE
2008), Geneva, Switzerland www.ebace.aero
May 27-28, 2008 – Shared Vision of Aviation Safety Conference, San Diego, CA
http://www.aqp-foqa.com/Conferences/2008/index.html
June 9-12, 2008 - AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America 2008, San Diego Convention
Center, San Diego, CA http://www.auvsi.org/symposium/2006/specialevents.cfm
July 14-20, 2008 – Farnborough Air Show, http://www.farnborough.com/
July 15-19, 2008 – INCOSE 2008, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
http://www.incose.org/symp2008/
June 16-20, 2008 – UPA 2008: Experiencing Holistic Usability, Baltimore. MD
http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/
June 20-25, 2008 – Third International Conference on Cognitive Science, Moscow, Russia
http://www.cogsci2008.ru/eng/
June 21-25, 2008 – ASHRAE Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.ashrae.org/events/page/1382
July 28-August 3, 2008 – EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI http://www.airventure.org/
August 11-15, 2008 –SIG-GRAPH 2008, 35th International Conference on Computer Graphics
and Interactive Techniques, Los Angeles Convention Center, CA
http://www.siggraph.org/events/s2008
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August 14-17, 2008 – American Psychological Association Convention, Boston, MA
http://www.apa.org/
September 14-18, 2008 - The 26th Congress of the International Council of Aeronautical
Sciences including the 8th AIAA Aircraft Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference,
Egan Convention Center, Anchorage, AK http://www.aiaa.org/
September 22-26, 2008 – Human Factors & Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting, New
York, NY http://www.hfes.org/
October 1-4, 2008 – Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Fall Meeting, Renaissance Grand
Hotel, St. Louis, MO http://www.bmes.org
October 6-8, 2008 – NBAA 61st Annual Meeting and Convention, Orlando, FL
http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/
October 20-23, 2008 – NDIA 11th Annual Systems Engineering Conference, Hyatt Regency
Islandia, San Diego, CA http://ndia.org/
October 27-30, 2008 – DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition, Denver, CO
http://www.sae.org/events/conferences/aerospace/
November 6-8, 2008 - AOPA Expo, San Jose, CA http://www.aopa.org/expo/
Note: Calendar events in Italics are new since the last newsletter
Comments or questions regarding this newsletter?
Please contact Bill Berger at (334) 271-2928
or via e-mail at bill.ctr.berger @faa.gov
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