The art of learning has undergone various strides from the evolutionary point of view. Many changes have revolutionized human life at various important junctions that form a nexus between learning or perception and a given art. Brain’s integrity has developed to harbor a plethora of information or data storage in the form of memory. Cognition and This job rely on the successful stage of where cognition and information processing may play a key role. However, when this coordinated network system goes awry, a bad outcome would result. This could be due to the interference of certain risky human errors. The present description highlights a case in a similar context related to Human error and Information Processing in Aviation.
In the field of Aviation, several issues related to human errors have firm links to ‘pilots.’ To say pilot errors have drawn the attention of Aviation researchers. It was described by the Federal Aviation Administration that the majority of human error led accidents have been cognitive information processing or decisional problems. In order to overcome this problem, proper infrastructure was developed and evaluated earlier that involved ten-year research. This was on Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) training. With the implementation of ADM, many manuals have become the basis for training pilots to minimize the errors worldwide. Especially, documentation was done on Human performance error (HPE).
Many revisions have been made to the material in order to make it more adaptive for new trainers and pilots with experience. Most probably on the grounds of cognitive information processing, a distinction between new decisions and familiar ideas was sought. This approach was made to correlate with the accident scenario’s reviews and pilots’ experience and cognitive processes (Adams & Ericsson, 2000).
Although ADM was widely recommended, a broad spectrum of cases has become a matter of investigation for the researchers. Nearly 80% of crashes in aviation are due to pilots, and with regard to flight summary scores and communication tasks, experienced pilots have surpassed their younger colleagues. In order to probe this further, researchers have performed a study on 3306 pilots whose age was in between 45 and 54 years. With the help of the Federal Aviation Administration’s airmen information system, this investigation was developed. Similarly, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB has provided the previous crash records for a review. A comparison made on pilots aged 40-49 and those of 50-63 years on human factors and crash circumstances have indicated with the increase in age from 40 to 60 years, both the variations in the pilot errors and crash situations have not changed(Li et al., 2002).
The components that provided valuable information for the study are weather conditions, type, and phase of flight, time, and location of the crash. A much proportion of crashes have been reported from the pilots of young age, nearly 73 %, whereas a low proportion was reported from the old age pilots. Further, the other factors that contributed to crashes are runway or mishandled wind/ conditions, mishandled aircraft kinetics, flawed decisions, and inattentiveness (Li et al., 2002). This has indicated that human errors are influential fro various corners for the crash situation.
Hence, overcoming the Aviation mishap has been a challenging task. It was not fully known how human errors have been intervening with the pilot’s information processing system. Many considerations at a higher level have alerted the aviation authorities to enable the study of human errors a complex research task.
It was reported that Pilot fatigue has interfered with aviation operations of modern days and also been identified as a novel problem. This could be due to the effect of
inadequate sleep met with the military and civilian flight operations, biological clock alterations like circadian disruptions, working overtime, uncertainty in the work schedule, thus reflecting a total alteration in aviation operations. The negative consequences or effects of pilot fatigue were unknown, and its complete involvement is frequently overlooked. It was anticipated that pilots experiencing fatigue were subject to memory difficulties, low thinking, and movement when they were deprived of sleep in contrast to people with complete flexible sleep for a good duration. This sleep deprivation could make the pilots develop a decline in routine job responsibilities. As such, mishaps resulting from aviation errors may become unavoidable (Caldwell et al., 2009).
Earlier, some recommendations to minimize the fatigue among aircrew members were developed focusing on pilot sleep and layover durations. This was, however, revised with changes since the time of inception on flight time limitations, scheduling parameters and still need an up-gradation with concrete evidence. Certain limitations have retarded the progress of regulations, although scientific analysis of circadian physiology, shift work, sleep, and fatigue has been made. Industry practices have also failed to provide novel information to the aviation authorities. Fatigue concern among pilots has emerged as a concern, and air safety on these grounds is a daunting task for the officials. Much knowledge of human errors with regard to operational flight studies, review descriptions from the pilots, and accident statistics need to be developed to ensure smooth aviation operations (Caldwell et al., 2009).
The US civilian and military flight regulations, determination of preventive measures related to in-flight, and pre-/postflight operations have been the subject of an investigation to overcome human errors resulting from fatigue (Caldwell et al., 2009). Recently in an approach to overcome human errors, the emphasis was laid on information processing. Since pilots regularly com across the handling of aircraft equipment, the science of automation plays a role in deciding the perfection and perception. Studies were made to investigate the complex systems information processing, keeping in view of human operators’ potential and their interaction with adaptive automation (AA). A model of human-automation interaction was developed for this purpose and applied to participants in a study. An air traffic control task was given as a simulation for the participants to operate. In this case, there was coordination between several aspects under study. They are information acquisition, information analysis, action implementation, and decision making that was being linked to the application of automated assistance.
The measurement of these tasks was based on information on the workload states of the operator. Forms of automation that shown a variation were evaluated, and a manual control condition was used for comparison. Significant adaptation to automation was revealed with regard to psychomotor information-processing functions (action implementation). In contrast, information analysis and decision making that reflect cognitive functions were poor. This has indicated that information processing with regard to adaptive automaton was more flexible and reliable than for manual control. The design of automation has shed light o on the information processing to assist the air traffic controller (Kaber et al., 2005).
The application of automation has benefits for the aircrew and the air traffic systems. The use of simulators has shed light on the information processing by giving further exploration opportunity to develop a framework for human-machine system information-processing functions. The information processing system has been applied among pilots. This involved the enrollment of pilots in two tasks. In the first task, the pilots were made to become familiar with heuristic-based strategies like the most confirming decision situations they faced, aspect exclusion. In another task, the pilots need to solve the fourth scenario of their choice by selecting the approaches of information acquisition.
The development of the acquisition system was most suitable for the pilots due to the involvement of the task orientation strategy in contrast to the information acquisition strategy.
Pilots have eliminated the available three strategies by choosing the most preferred one indicating that decision-making tasks have strengthened the position of task-oriented experience but not the information acquisition process. This strategy has increased the information-processing potential among the pilots due to the robust decision support systems development. Thus, in-flight decision making. The heuristic-based approach has tremendously influenced the task-related information through an option of optimal alternative choosing method. This has made the framework become more adaptive for supporting the decision system(Wiggins & Bollwerk,2006). Computer led strategy has mimicked the methods of information acquisition through normative and naturalistic decisions that are inherent in humans(Wiggins & Bollwerk,2006).
This has indicated that information processing is more dependant on the selection of strategies by the pilots. Pilot choosing of alternatives is a welcome approach to minimize the errors. More probably, precise investigation of the automated system and its impact on human information processing will be better understood. The advent of simulation technology in aviation has led the human-machine interaction an easier mandatory assignment to be undertaken by pilots during training. In detail, the roots of information processing
have been underpinned by earlier researchers with a strong emphasis’ on its Psychophysiology. The strategy of adaptive automation creates a dynamic atmosphere between computer systems and the human operator. The tasks, when assigned, become an integral part of the training. They furnish awareness on the effects of several forms of automation, thereby contributing to the formation of logic and adaptive attitudes (Byrne & Parasuraman, 1995). In addition, on the psychophysiological grounds, they furnish knowledge on the operator role and his or her integration with the operator modeling and performance measurement that helps in the automation control and maintenance.
Psychophysiological measures have implications that they could help to asses the underload conditions that lead to functional decline in the work environment that involves automation (Byrne & Parasuraman, 1995). It can be inferred that information processing has a better establishment with the automaton models largely employed by the Aviation officials, where the human-machine interface has become a key role.
Feedbacks obtained from the pilots may reveal the strategy they have become familiar with. Pilot safety is anticipated to increase in view of the novel strategies undertaken
during various case investigations. However, there may be certain disparities that need to be addressed to upgrade the information processing system. Psychologically, perception of information from the environment, although it is an inherent property of humans, interfering factors may become a barrier due to the evolving complex responsibilities at the workplace. This is contributing to human errors. Factors like workload, age fatigue have played a major role in the development of human errors. They need much focus to alleviate the detrimental consequences like air crashes.Safety manual up-gradation and its recommendation need to be carried out by the Aviation officials.
References
Adams, R.J., & Ericsson, A.E. (2000). Introduction to cognitive processes of expert pilots. Hum Perf Extrem Environ, 5(1),44-62.
Caldwell, J.A., Mallis, M.M., Caldwell, J.L., Paul, M.A., Miller, J.C., Neri, D.F. (2009). Fatigue countermeasures in aviation. Aviat Space Environ Med, 80,1,29-59.
Byrne, E.A., & Parasuraman, R. (1995). Psychophysiology and adaptive automation. Biol Psychol, 42, (3):249-68.
Kaber,D.B., Wright, M.C., Prinzel, L.J 3rd., Clamann, M.P. (2005).Adaptive automation of human-machine system information-processing functions. Hum Factors,47, (4)730-41.
Li, G., Baker, S.P., Lamb, M.W., Grabowski, J.G., Rebok, G.W. (2002). Human factors in aviation crashes involving older pilots. Aviat Space Environ Med,73(2),134-8.
Wiggins, M.W., & Bollwerk, S. (2006). Heuristic-based information acquisition and decision making among pilots. Hum Factors,48(4):734-46.