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- Title
In-Flight Decision-Making by General Aviation Pilots Operating in Areas of Extreme Thunderstorms.
- Authors
Boyd, Douglas D.
- Abstract
BACKGROUND: METHODS: RESULTS: DISCUSSION: KEYWORDS: General aviation (comprised mainly of noncommercial, light aircraft) accounts for 94% of civil aviation fatalities in the United States. Although thunderstorms are hazardous to light aircraft, little research has been undertaken on in-flight pilot decision-making regarding their avoidance. The study objectives were: 1) to determine if the thunderstorm accident rate has declined over the last two decades; and 2) assess in-flight (enroute/landing) airman decision-making regarding adherence tofAA separation minima from thunderstorms. Thunderstorm-related accidents were identified from the NTSB database. To determine en route/arriving aircraft real-time thunderstorm proximity/relative position and airplane location, using a flight-tracking (Flight Aware®) website, were overlaid on a graphical weather image. Statistics employed Poisson and Chi-squared analyses. The thunderstorm-related accident rate was undiminished over the 1996-2014 period. In a prospective analysis the majority (enroute 77%, landing 93%) of flights violated the FAA-recommended separation distance from extreme convection. Of these, 79 and 69% (en route and landing, respectively) selected a route downwind of the thunderstorm rather than a less hazardous upwind flight path. Using a mathematical product of binary (separation distance, relative aircraft-thunderstorm position) and nominal (thunderstorm-free egress area) parameters, airmen were more likely to operate in the thunderstorm hazard zone for landings than en route operations. The thunderstorm-related accident rate, carrying a 70% fatality rate, remains unabated, largely reflecting nonadherence to the FAA-recommended separation minima and selection of a more hazardous route (downwind) for circumnavigation of extreme convective weather. These findings argue for additional emphasis in ab initio pilot training/recurrency on thunderstorm hazards and safe practices (separation distance and flight path).
- Subjects
MARITIME pilots; THUNDERSTORMS; AIRPLANES; HEALTH
- Publication
Aerospace Medicine & Human Performance, 2017, Vol 88, Issue 12, p1066
- ISSN
2375-6314
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3357/AMHP.4932.2017