Effects of Mental Workload and Risk Perception on Pilots’ Safety Performance in Adverse Weather Contexts

Abstract

Many air crashes are related to pilots’ mental workload and their risk perception when they meet adverse weather. The ability to manage weather risk is critical for pilots’ performance. However, it is difficult to reflect variations in psychological parameters using scales in hazardous scenarios, and previous results have therefore been subjective and inaccurate. To grasp the subjective variation in psychological parameters and propose effective severe-weather training for pilots, this study examined heart-rate variation (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) variables under hazardous scenarios. Nineteen participants were recruited to complete a flying task where the flight was divided into different segments according to the weather. Participants were divided into normal and abnormal groups according to their safety performance; the results showed that the two groups performed similarly during good weather and landing. Compared to the abnormal group, the normal group had a more stable inter-beat intervals (IBI) and higher skin conductivity level (SCL) during hazardous scenarios. The normal group also showed rapid increases in SCL after the weather worsened. These findings indicate that unstable HRV and lower activated EDA are associated with safety performance under hazardous scenarios. On that basis, a method based on physiological parameters is proposed to evaluate pilots’ mental workload and risk perception without too much interference. Finally, some specific suggestions for training are made to ensure flight safety.