Flight Deck Simulation of Complex Clearance Information Entry During Relative Spacing Arrival Operations

Abstract

Interval management (IM) uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast to provide greater air traffic system throughput and efficiency by improving inter-aircraft spacing precision. The IM Dependent Staggered Approach (DSA) application enables aircraft within a pair to achieve a spacing objective when arriving to parallel, dependently scheduled runways. These operations may require lengthier or more complex IM clearance communications that, coupled with manual entry of ownship route information and forecast winds, can result in a more challenging setup task than has been previously examined. An experiment with 16 pilots was conducted to examine the flight crew acceptability, feasibility, and technical assumptions related to conducting IM DSA operations in a metering environment with voice communications. Results show flight crew errors during entry of the clearance elements into the Cockpit Display of Traffic Information traffic display, especially with a long and highly complex IM clearance. The manual entry of ownship route and forecast wind information also appeared to increase the complexity of the entry task and the potential for errors. Recommendations are made to the Federal Aviation Administration and equipment manufacturers regarding IM communications and the design of related flight deck displays to avoid entry errors and, when they occur, indicate the source to pilots.