Workload, Strategic Behavior, and Decision-Making

It is well-known that more than half of aircraft incidents and accidents have occurred because of human error. These errors resulted from such factors as flightcrew distractions, interruptions, lapses of attention, and work overload.[391] For this reason, NASA researchers have long been interested in characterizing errors made by pilots and other crewmem­bers while performing the many concurrent flight deck tasks required during normal flight operations. Its Attention Management in the Cockpit program analyzes accident and incident reports, as well as question­naires completed by experienced pilots, to set up appropriate laboratory experiments to examine the problem of concurrent task management and to develop methods and training programs to reduce errors. This research will help design simulated but realistic training scenarios, assist flight – crew members in understanding their susceptibility to errors caused by lapses in attention, and create ways to help them manage heavy work­load demands. The intended result is increased flight safety.[392]

Likewise, safety in the air can be compromised by errors in judg­ment and decision making. To tackle this problem, NASA Ames Research

Center joined with the University of Oregon to study how decisions are made and to develop techniques to decrease the likelihood of bad deci­sion making.[393] Similarly, mission success has been shown to depend on the degree of cooperation between crewmembers. NASA research specifically studied such factors as building trust, sharing information, and managing resources in stressful situations. The findings of this research will be used as the basis for training crews to manage inter­personal problems on long missions.[394]

It can therefore be seen that NASA has indeed played a primary role in developing many of the human factors models in use, relating to air­crew efficiency and mental well-being. These models and the training programs that incorporate them have helped both military and civil­ian flightcrew members improve their management of resources in the cockpit and make better individual and team decisions in the air. This knowledge has also helped more clearly define and minimize the nega­tive effects of crew fatigue and excessive workload demands in the cock­pit. Further, NASA has played a key role in assisting both the aviation industry and DOD in setting up many of the training programs that are utilizing this new technology to improve flight safety.