Citation

Coyne JT, Baldwin CL, Latorella KA. Int. J. Aviat. Psychol. 2008; 18(2): 153-166.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10508410801926756

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

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.