Abstract. Twin-engine propeller aircraft accidents occur due to mechanical reasons as well as human error, such as misidentifying a failed engine. This paper proposes a visual indicator as an alternative method to the dead leg–dead engine procedure to identify a failed engine. In total, 50 pilots without a multi-engine rating were randomly assigned to a traditional (dead leg–dead engine) or an alternative (visual indicator) group. Participants performed three takeoffs in a flight simulator with a simulated engine failure after rotation. Participants in the alternative group identified the failed engine faster than the traditional group. A visual indicator may improve pilot accuracy and performance during engine-out emergencies and is recommended as a possible alternative for twin-engine propeller aircraft.
Thirty-three participants were recruited to test two conditions of inattentional insensitivity (IIS). IIS is the inability to recall a salient stimulus when performing a task in the same sensory modality. The two IIS conditions were visual (inattentional blindness) and tactile. Inattentional blindness was tested using a recently developed measure (an origami video). Task performance for both conditions, in addition to IIS were measured. Participants’ working memory (WM) were also tested. After being tested for IIS and WM, participants operated a driving simulator. Performance and situation awareness (SA) during the driving scenario were measured. Participants categorized as IIS performed worse for SA and performance in the subsequent driving task. However, it was found that participants categorized as IIS for the tactile condition performed better for the given tactile task. Further studies testing the relationship between IIS with SA and performance in safety critical situations are warranted. Additionally, the relationship between IIS with SA and performance may improve selection and training for safety critical and dynamic positions.
Twin-engine propeller aircraft accidents occur for many reasons including human factors, such as misidentifying a failed engine. Engine misidentification has led to several fatal accidents. Babin, Dattel, & Klemm (2020) found that, in a simulated engine failure scenario, using a visual indicator for engine identification resulted in significantly lower response time than the "dead leg-dead engine" procedure. To better understand the pilot perspective regarding the issue of engine failure and the method used for the identification of a failed engine, opinions and feedback were collected via surveys. Method: Two surveys were created and distributed among pilots to gather their opinions regarding the issue. Survey One was completed by airline pilots operating twin-engine turboprop aircraft; Survey Two was completed by instructor pilots operating light single-and twin-engine piston aircraft. Results: Forty-nine airline pilots and twenty-three instructor pilots responded to the survey. The average flight experience was 6,000+ flight hours/nine years for airline pilots and 420 flight hours/four years for instructor pilots. Approximately nineteen percent of airline pilots and half of the instructor pilots had had to utilize the engine-out procedure in their prior experience. Most respondents felt comfortable with the current method of identification of a failed engine. Twentynine percent of airline pilots and fourteen percent of instructor pilots agreed with the statement that there could be a better method of identification of a failed engine. Forty percent of all pilots who provided suggestions for improvement to the current method (both surveys combined) recommended adding a visual indicator to help with the identification. The results of the surveys provide greater insight into the problem of engine misidentification and suggest that many pilots favor visual cues, supporting findings described in Babin et al. (2020).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.