Change Detection after Preliminary Flight Decisions: Linking Planning Errors to Biases in Plan Monitoring

Abstract

The present study investigated a link between plan continuation errors and plan monitoring. Pilots were asked to execute a flight plan that traversed through hazardous airspace and then monitor the success of the plan by seeking and detecting changes in the airspace that could affect the safety of the plan. Following change detection, pilots had the opportunity to revise these plans. In nearly one-third of trials, pilots failed to revise flight plans, thereby committing a plan continuation error, and were more likely to do so when plan monitoring was inadequate. Overall, more than half of changes went undetected, though detection response times were improved when changes were relevant to the flight planning task or when traffic aircraft were changed rather than weather systems. Findings imply that plan monitoring is less than perfect, which may be a substantial contributing factor to plan continuation errors.