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Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation

Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009.

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Other Authors: Vermeulen, Leopold Petrus
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Vermeulen, Leopold Petrus
author_browse Vermeulen, Leopold Petrus
author_facet Vermeulen, Leopold Petrus
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv ©University of Pretoria 2008 Please cite as follows Naidoo, P 2008, Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation, MPhil dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06152009-133747/ > E1278/
description Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/25547
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:55.528Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/25547 Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation Vermeulen, Leopold Petrus preven.naidoo@hotmail.com Naidoo, Prevendren Flight deck Airline pilots Aircraft UCTD Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. Human factor issues related to flight deck automation require thorough knowledge of airline pilots’ perceptions of advanced automated aircraft. This understanding is important in designing effective training programmes and developing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of an airline that are needed to fly these aircraft safely. The purpose of this study was to identify the core components of advanced flight deck automation and to construct a valid and reliable instrument to measure the perceptions of airline pilots with regard to automated flight deck systems on modern commercial jet aircraft. An Automation Attitude Questionnaire, the AAQ, was constructed and distributed to all the pilots employed at a major South African carrier. The subsequent data, received from 262 respondents, was interpreted and then analysed using the SPSS and StatsPac statistical software packages. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that five distinct factors were responsible for a significant portion of the variability in pilots’ perceptions of advanced flight deck automation systems and training on those systems. After analysis, these factors were labelled ‘comprehension’, ‘training’, ‘trust’, ‘workload’ and ‘design’. The results indicated that those pilots who operated mainly Airbus-manufactured aircraft types had a statistically significantly more positive perception of the design of the automation system than those of their counterparts who flew mainly Boeing-manufactured aeroplanes. Co-pilots who operated primarily on the company’s long-range aircraft expressed significantly more positive perceptions of advanced flight deck automation training than the line captains dedicated to long-range flying. It was found that captains flying the company’s short-range aircraft also held a more positive perception of automation training than captains operating long-range aircraft. The biographical variables of age, years of flying experience and total flying hours, appeared to be negatively related to both the comprehension and training dimensions of advanced flight deck automation. However, the mere opportunity to fly these advanced automated aircraft seemed to affect pilots’ perceptions of these systems more positively than negatively. Finally, the overall responses of the majority of participants in this study were very positive with regard to the five core factors related to perceptions of advanced flight deck automation. It is suggested that future studies of this nature should incorporate a larger sample consisting of cross-cultural carriers in the global industry. This will confirm the external validity of the present study and support the transfer of findings to other airline pilot populations. Human Resource Management unrestricted 2013-09-06T22:23:38Z 2009-06-30 2013-09-06T22:23:38Z 2009-04-21 2009-06-30 2009-06-15 Dissertation 2008 Please cite as follows Naidoo, P 2008, Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation, MPhil dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25547 > E1278/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25547 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06152009-133747/ ©University of Pretoria 2008 Please cite as follows Naidoo, P 2008, Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation, MPhil dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06152009-133747/ > E1278/ application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Flight deck
Airline pilots
Aircraft
UCTD
Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title_full Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title_fullStr Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title_full_unstemmed Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title_short Airline pilots' perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
title_sort airline pilots perceptions of advanced flight deck automation
topic Flight deck
Airline pilots
Aircraft
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25547
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06152009-133747/