Review of Air Traffic Controller Selection: An International Perspective

Abstract

This report provides a review of research on air traffic controller selection in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. The development and validation of the multiple hurdle selection system used by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 1976 through 1992 is described first. The computeradministered test battery that supplanted the second-stage screening conducted at the FAA Academy is discussed next. Work by Eißfeldt for the German Air Navigation Services at the Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR) in Hamburg is reviewed. Job analysis, test battery development, and validation research for the controller occupation in the United Kingdom is presented next, followed by a description of the Swedish "MRU Project" on controller selection. The report closes with a discussion of issues surrounding controller job performance measurement. The advantages and disadvantages of historical criteria, such as training records, are reviewed. Alternative approaches to job performance measurement, such as simulations and operational data replay and analysis, are then described. The report closes with suggestions for future directions in controller selection research.

Mental imagery testing for personnel selection, training, and HCI applications

“…Concurrent, criterion-related validation studies showed AT-SAT to be a valid predictor of controller job performance via a High Fidelity Performance Measure (HFPM) and a more tractable Computer Based Performance Measure (CBPM; Ramos et al, 2001a,b). AT-SAT was also valid in predicting longitudinal attainment of Certified Professional Controller (CPC) status (Broach et al, 2013). While some subtests of the AT-SAT are visual in nature, mental imagery is not specifically tested in the AT-SAT.…”

The Evolution of the ATC Selection and Training Process

“…The MTPB was hypothesized to be a better predictor of ATC trainee success than the CSC ATC Aptitude Test (Chiles & West, 1974). In 1981, the CSC ATC Aptitude Test was replaced by an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) three-test battery: The Multiplex Controller Aptitude Test (MCAT), the Abstract Reasoning Test (ABSR), and the Occupational Knowledge Test (OKT) (Broach & Manning, 1997).…”

A meta-analysis on air traffic controllers selection: cognitive and non-cognitive predictors

“…However, when we look at the predictive validity of these selection processes, much variability can be seen and yet little has been published on the subject. Some authors have published scientific reviews on the ATCO selection process (Broach, 2017;Broach & Manning, 1997;King et al, 2007;Pavel, 2012) but a limitation shared by these studies is the generalization of the results. A predictor can be valid with one entity during a certain period, but the real question is rather to know if the predictor is valid all the time and with all entities with their own particularities.…”