The use of enhanced information displays to support pilot procedure following

A recent experiment has produced evidence that information displays to support the execution of operational procedures can aid performance and increase situation awareness. The experiment involved private pilots flying instrument approaches on a desktop flight simulator. The pilots flew six approaches which varied by the entry maneuver required and the presence of dynamic "procedure context" information on an electronic instrument approach display. After each approach subjects were asked a number of questions which tested recall of their adherence to procedure, and this recall was then compared to their control actions while flying the simulator. These two measures were used as an indication of the subjects' situation awareness. The subjects' actual conformance to procedure and their ability to fly a stabilized approach were used as performance measures. All of these measures were significantly affected by the use of the display enhanced with procedure context information. The importance of this finding is reflected in the observation that the control of most systems in safety critical environments is highly proceduralized. While the extent to which procedures impact the work domain has been recognized, there has been little work on understanding how pilots use procedure information or on how to support procedure following. This study provides insight into the use of procedure information during instrument approaches, and suggests a design methodology that may be used for creating information displays to support procedure following. The intent of such displays is to assist operators in not only following operational procedures, but also in comprehending the context of procedures, enabling them to understand why, when, and how to deviate from procedures if necessary.