Interpretability of Aviation Weather Information Displays for General Aviation

Abstract

BACKGROUND: General Aviation (GA) pilots who encounter hazardous weather inflight have a high probability of incurring fatal accidents. To mitigate this problem, previous research investigated pilot decision making and the effects of new technology. Limited investigations have examined usability and interpretability of observation and forecast weather products available to pilots. Therefore, this study examined the interpretability of weather observation and forecast reports that GA pilots use for preflight weather planning and the impact of pilot certification level on the interpretability of these displays.METHOD: There were 204 GA pilots (Mean age = 22.50 yr; Median flight hours = 131.0) who completed a 90-item multiple choice Aviation Weather Product Test. The questions portrayed static weather displays available on the NOAA/National Weather Service Aviation Weather Center website. The questions were designed to have high cognitive fidelity in comparison with preflight weather planning tasks.RESULTS: The results revealed overall low mean interpretability scores (Mean percent correct= 59.29%, SD = 16.01%). The scores for observation products and product attributes were lower for student pilots than experienced pilots. Forecast product scores for student and private pilots did not differ, however, student pilot scores were significantly lower than instrument rated private and commercial pilots.DISCUSSION: The low interpretability scores indicate that GA pilots misinterpret weather information provided by most weather observation and forecast products. Possible contributing factors to the low product interpretation scores include poor usability and a lack of training. Future research should measure the usability of weather displays designed for pilots.Blickensderfer BL, Guinn TA, Lanicci JM, Ortiz Y, King JM, Thomas RL, DeFilippis N. Interpretability of aviation weather information displays for general aviation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(4):318–325.

Measuring Mental Models: General Aviation Pilots’ Understanding of Preflight Weather

“…Conversely, the arrival mental models require pilots to evaluate forecast products and project how the weather will developa more cognitively complex task than understanding currently occurring weather. This finding also, aligns with previous research that found pilots perform worse at interpreting forecast products compared to current observations (Blickensderfer et al, 2020).…”

The Effects of Display Type, Weather Type, and Pilot Experience on Pilot Interpretation of Weather Products

“…162-167) found that pilots with more weather experience were able to identify necessary information and integrate that information more effectively than pilots with less weather experience. Other weather research has found little to no correlation between flight hours and aviation weather knowledge [30]. In the domain of aviation, experience is typically measured either by a pilot's cumulative time spent operating an aircraft (flight hours) or by the certifications (private and commercial) and ratings (instrument) earned by the pilot.…”

Implementing Active Learning Techniques in an Undergraduate Aviation Meteorology Course

“…Furthermore, "the majority of weather accidents were flown in single-engine fixed-gear aircraft" (AOPA, 2019). Blickensderfer et al (2018Blickensderfer et al ( , 2020 found general aviation (GA) pilots struggle to understand weather information and interpret aviation weather products. These findings highlight the need for pilots to demonstrate an understanding of the weather hazards associated with flight operations and the atmospheric conditions that are favorable for the development of such hazards.…”