Pilot Weather Assessment: Implications for Visual Flight Rules Flight Into Instrument Meteorological Conditions

Visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) account for over 10% of the fatalities in general aviation. Evidence suggests that pilots' assessments of weather conditions are related to their decision to continue. This study investigated pilots' ability to asse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe International journal of aviation psychology Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 153 - 166
Main Authors Coyne, Joseph T., Baldwin, Carryl L., Latorella, Kara A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Mahwah Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2008
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
Subjects
Aviation
Flight simulation
Flight training
Meteorology
Pilots
Weather
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Summary:Visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) account for over 10% of the fatalities in general aviation. Evidence suggests that pilots' assessments of weather conditions are related to their decision to continue. This study investigated pilots' ability to assess ceiling and visibility in a flight simulator. Assessment accuracy did not differ between instrument- and non-instrument-rated pilots for ceiling accuracy, but visibility accuracy was better for non-instrument-rated pilots. The data indicated pilots allowed their estimates of ceiling and visibility to influence each other. That is, pilots tended to judge a ceiling to be higher than it actually was when it was paired with a high visibility. This interaction may play a significant role in pilots' decisions to continue into IMC.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1050-8414
1532-7108
DOI:10.1080/10508410801926756