Citation

Pettitt MA. Transp. Res. Rec. 1989; 1257: 18-29.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to examine pilots' perceptions of crisis and their attitudes toward the decision-making processes used in crises. A scenario and a 19-item questionnaire were used to determine the perception of crisis, the sense of urgency in the situation, and the rigidity of response. The pilots' ratings of the situation as a crisis were positively correlated with their ratings of the characteristics usually attributed to crises. Overall, perception of the situation as a crisis was high, but response rigidity was low. However, pilots who had a high sense of urgency also tended to have higher response rigidity scores. This group differed significantly from pilots who exhibited a low-urgency--low-rigidity pattern. Rigidity scores also differed significantly between the high-urgency--low-urgency groups when crisis perception was high. Lower urgency scores always yielded lower response rigidity scores. The study suggested that a potentially optimal decision pattern in crisis, one more situationally responsive, may be high crisis perception, low sense of urgency, and low response rigidity. Pilots who had formal Cockpit Resources Management training and pilots of two-crew-member aircraft both exhibited this pattern.

Record URL:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1990/1257/1257-003.pdf

Language: en

Keywords

Aviators; Personnel Training; Aviation--Accident Prevention; Systems Science And Cybernetics--Cognitive Systems