Cognitive Skills for Flight Path Management

This research provides a current benchmark of the cognitive skills and cognitive processes needed for flight path management (FPM) in current commercial air transportation flight operations. While some cognitive skills for aviation have been identified, it remains unclear which skills are most pertinent for different phases of flight, for different tasks, across different aircraft types, and during operational complexity. Further, there is concern that flight deck automation may contribute to cognitive skill degradation. Two expert pilots participated in cognitive walkthroughs to establish a current benchmark of the cognitive skills and cognitive processes needed for FPM. The tasks involved seven different phases of flight and two different aircraft; the results from two phases are reported—Preflight Briefing and Initial Climb. The findings indicate nineteen cognitive skills, and three metacognitive skills are used by pilots for FPM. In addition, the cognitive process models needed for FPM are all very similar, regardless of the aircraft type, task, phase of flight, or increased operational complexity. These results provide a foundation for future efforts on cognitive skill degradation, training of FPM cognitive skills, and may be used to inform the design of new automated systems to support pilot cognition.