Weather Deviation Decisions by Air Transport Crews during Simulated Flight

Abstract

As the variety and capabilities of cockpit weather displays have increased, weather deviation decisions have become more complex. Important issues include conflicting or outdated weather information, and teamed reactivity of crews to weather displays. We investigated the influence of onboard and NEXRAD agreement, range to the simulated potential weather event, and the pilot flying on collective weather deviation decisions. Twelve pilot-copilot teams flew a simulated route while reacting to weather events presented in two graphical formats on a separate visual display. Results showed that pilots often chose to deviate from weather rather than confront it. When onboard and NEXRAD displays did not agree, flight crews reacted by trusting the onboard system more but using the NEXRAD system as a backup. These results suggest that future weather displays should exploit existing benefits of NEXRAD presentation for situation awareness while retaining the display structure and logic inherent in the onboard system.