Pilots’ Decision-Making under High Workload: Recognition-Primed or Not – An Engineering Point of View

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse pilots' decision-making behaviour in terms of naturalistic decision-making. In line with the highly experienced group of pilots (n = 120), recognition-primed decisions are expected to dominate. In a full-flight simulator experiment, with two groups of pilots (short-haul and long-haul pilots) with different levels of practice and training, we were able to show that only about one-third of the pilots make recognition-primed decisions. Results may indicate that the current training practice helps pilots to handle foreseeable problems very well, yet does not support pilots in ambivalent and new decision-making situations. Based on these findings, we recommend the incorporation of more unforeseen events in recurrent training simulator missions to train pilots in handling unknown situations. Practitioner Summary: The results from a flight-simulator study showed that pilots' decision-making is more analytical than recognition-primed. A possible reason for this could be the pressure for justification, or simply that pilots cannot use their experience in unforeseen situations. Hence, training should include more unforeseen events.