Cockpit Crew Research Articles

Delta Optimizes Continuing-Qualification-Training Schedules for Pilots

Delta Air Lines periodically trains its cockpit crew members to maintain their flight qualifications. The negotiation of the new pilot working agreement (PWA) in June 2001 introduced a short and stringent planning cycle and a new training-pay structure that affects operating costs. The downturn in airline business after September 11, 2001 forced Delta to reduce its workforce and to modify its requirements for scheduling pilot training. To mitigate Delta's exposure to costs and to automate the scheduling process under a rigid planning time line, we developed and deployed an automated optimization system, CQOPT, that builds and assigns training schedules based on individual pilot's requirements. The primary objectives of CQOPT are to minimize overall operating costs and maximize training assignments. Shortly after CQOPT's deployment in May 2002, the planning cycle dropped from several days to a few hours. Delta expects to save $7.5 million in annual operating costs by using CQOPT to schedule continuing qualification (CQ) training for its pilots.

Mortality from cancer and other causes among male airline cockpit crew in Europe.

Airline pilots and flight engineers are exposed to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin and other occupational and life-style factors that may influence their health status and mortality. In a cohort study in 9 European countries we studied the mortality of this occupational group. Cockpit crew cohorts were identified and followed-up in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Sweden, including a total of 28,000 persons. Observed and expected deaths for the period 1960-97 were compared based on national mortality rates. The influence of period and duration of employment was analyzed in stratified and Poisson regression analyses. The study comprised 547,564 person-years at risk, and 2,244 deaths were recorded in male cockpit crew (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61-0.67). Overall cancer mortality was decreased (SMR = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.63-0.74). We found an increased mortality from malignant melanoma (SMR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.15-2.67) and a reduced mortality from lung cancer (SMR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.44-0.62). No consistent association between employment period or duration and cancer mortality was observed. A low cardiovascular mortality and an increased mortality caused by aviation accidents were noted. Our study shows that cockpit crew have a low overall mortality. The results are consistent with previous reports of an increased risk of malignant melanoma in airline pilots. Occupational risk factors apart from aircraft accidents seem to be of limited influence with regard to the mortality of cockpit crew in Europe.

Mortality among pilots and cabin crew in Greece, 1960-1997.

Specific health hazards, among them radiation of cosmic origin, have caused some concern among aircrew in civil aviation in recent years. Several cohort studies in Northern countries have investigated mortality and cancer incidence among aircrew. Our goal was to study the pattern of mortality among Greek commercial airline cockpit and cabin crew. We performed a retrospective cohort study including 843 Olympic Airways cockpit crew and 1835 cabin attendants. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated based on death rates of the Greek population. Duration of employment as a proxy for occupational exposure was used to stratify the cohort. For cockpit crew, the overall SMR was 0.7 (n = 65, 95% CI: 0.5-0.9). The SMR for all cancers was also significantly decreased (n = 17; SMR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9). Most of this reduction was due to a large deficit in lung cancer deaths (SMR = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.0-0.5). Slight but non-significant increases were noted for brain and liver cancer. The SMR for cardiovascular death was close to unity. Among female cabin attendants the SMR for all causes was 0.8 (95% CI: 0.4-1.3). The SMR for all cancers was 0.8 (95% CI: 0.3-1.7). Mortality from breast cancer was not increased. Among male cabin crew, SMR for all causes was 0.5 (95% CI: 0.3-0.9). Analyses according to duration of employment showed no pattern. In this first-ever occupational cohort study in Greece, Greek aircrew had a low overall and cancer mortality. Due to the small number of events, the strength of our study is limited. The Greek data will be included in a pooled analysis of European studies.

Cohort mortality study of German cockpit crew, 1960-1997.

Cockpit crew in civil aviation are exposed to several potential health hazards, among them cosmic ionizing radiation. To assess the influence of occupational and other factors on mortality we conducted a cohort study among cockpit crew. All pilots and other cockpit personnel of two German airlines were traced through registries and other sources for the period 1960-1997. Standardized mortality ratios, with German population rates as the reference, were calculated. We estimated the individual radiation dose based on individual job histories and assessed dose-response trends in stratified and regression analyses. We compiled a cohort of 6061 male cockpit personnel, yielding 105,037 person-years of observation. The maximum estimated individual radiation dose was 80.5 mSv. Among 255 deaths overall (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42-0.54) there were 76 cancer deaths (SMR = 0.56; CI = 0.43 - 0.74). Most cancer and cardiovascular SMRs were reduced. A slight increase was seen for brain cancer (SMR = 1.68; CI = 0.66-3.62). Employment duration was associated with the all-cancer mortality in Poisson regression analyses. No other dose-response relation was found. German cockpit crew have a low overall and cancer mortality. The role of occupational causes, and particularly cosmic radiation, appears limited.

Cohort Mortality Study of German Cockpit Crew, 1960–1997

Cohort Mortality Study of German Cockpit Crew, 1960–1997

Psychophysical analysis of sound and vibration in the cabin of passenger aircrafts

The vibroacoustics within the fuselage of several types of aircrafts is recorded with microphones, ear-related devices, and accelerometers at different locations of passengers seats, and the workplace of the cabin and cockpit crew. The signals are analyzed according to standard psychoacoustic and vibration parameters. The requirements for the reproduction of the signals in a ground-based test-bed (e.g., mock-up) are identified. Results are reported on how well test facilities at ground meet real-flight conditions. [Work supported by the European Community (www.heace.org).]

A retrospective cohort mortality study of Italian commercial airline cockpit crew and cabin attendants, 1965-96.

A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted among Italian commercial flight personnel for the period 1965-1996. The cohort was composed of 3,022 male cockpit crew members and 3,418 male and 3,428 female cabin attendants. Cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and exact 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as estimates of the relative risk. Mortality from all cancers was less than expected for all categories (SMRs of 0.58 for male cockpit crew, 0.67 for male cabin attendants, and 0.90 for female cabin attendants). Among male flight personnel, the SMR for leukemia was somewhat elevated (SMR 1.73; 95% CI: 0.75-3.41) based on eight deaths, with a positive trend by length of employment (p = 0.046). Additionally, an excess of death by suicide was seen among female cabin attendants (SMR 3.38; 95% CI: 1.24-7.35). Other Italian studies of flight personnel are under way, including a detailed assessment of cosmic radiation exposure and investigations of non-radiation occupational risk factors and prevalence of nonfatal outcomes.

A Retrospective Cohort Mortality Study of Italian Commercial Airline Cockpit Crew and Cabin Attendants, 1965–96

A Retrospective Cohort Mortality Study of Italian Commercial Airline Cockpit Crew and Cabin Attendants, 1965–96

Airline cockpit crew scheduling

Essential to airline operations, cockpit crew scheduling has not been researched much in the past. In this research we developed a model and two scheduling networks, using real data from a Taiwan airline, to help minimize cockpit crew costs and to plan for proper cockpit crew pairings. The model was formulated as a set-partitioning problem. A column generation approach was proposed to efficiently solve the problem. To show how well the model could be applied to the real world, a case study regarding the international operations of a Taiwan airline was performed.

Man-machine-interface in modern transport systems from an aviation safety perspective

The early long-range-jets were operated by five cockpit crew members: Captain, Copilot, Flight Engineer, Navigator and Radio-Operator. Nowadays even the big jets are flown by only two pilots. This development could only be achieved by introducing new technologies to the airline industry and automating aircraft systems. Due to the scientific progress made in the last decades today's aircraft are most reliable – a fact which is clearly reflected by accident statistics. Technical failures became more and more unlikely and the lack of manpower on the flight deck was more than compensated. However, starting in the late 80s a number of accidents occurred to highly automated aircraft, which alarmed accident investigators worldwide. In most of the cases automation was a factor or at least one link in the accident chain of events. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a study on “The Interfaces Between Flight Crews and Modern Flight Deck Systems” and came up with numerous findings. In the following article I like to discuss the topic ‘Man-Machine-Interface in modern Transport Systems’ from an Aviation Safety Perspective.

Simulation-Based Training in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM): A Decade of Experience

Several gaps exist in the training of clinicians in health care domains, such as anesthesiology, that have the cognitive profile of complexity and dynamism. These features are shared with other industries such as commercial aviation. Training for cockpit crews on Crew Resource Management (CRM) emphasizes decision-making and teamwork principles. The authors created a simulation-based curriculum (ACRM) for anesthesiology based on principles of CRM in aviation. The training philosophy adapted to health care is one of training single-discipline crews to work in teams. The ACRM curriculum involves highly realistic simulation scenarios requiring complex decision making and interaction with multiple personnel. Scenarios are each followed by a detailed debriefing using videotapes of the simulation session. ACRM has been adopted at major health care institutions around the world. Special training for instructors is provided, especially concerning debriefing. The ACRM approach has been extended to a wide variety of other health care domains that involve complexity and dynamism, such as emergency and trauma medicine, intensive care, and cardiac arrest response teams. Simulation-based training based on CRM principles is expected to become routine in many health care settings in the coming decade.

Low-Dose Radiation No Risk to Air Crews

Having read the letters in the April 2000 issue of Physics Today (page 11) in response to Zbigniew Jaworowski’s article “Radiation Risk and Ethics” in the September 1999 issue (page 24), I’d like to add to the discussion. Jet airliner crews receive larger daily ionizing radiation doses from cosmic rays than almost any sector of the US population. This exposure has involved a large number of people over some 40 years.At 10‥000 meters altitude, the cosmic ray intensity is about 2 rem/year. Cockpit crews, those that actually operate the aircraft, are limited by labor rules to about 1000 duty hours per year, which is about 0.12 year. Cabin crews are not so limited; therefore, we assume that they work the usual 40-hour week, or 0.24 year. Jet air crews get at least 0.25 to 0.5 rem/y dose of cosmic radiation in addition to their typical dose of about 0.3 rem/y. 1 1. R. C. Weast, ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, vol. 69, CRC Press, Boca Raton (1988), p. F163. They receive elevated ionizing radiation doses greater than 0.5 rem/y.The rem is the product of the quality factor (QF) times the rads, the energy deposited in tissue. Rads can be measured with a dosimeter; however, the QF is a matter for interpretation. For electromagnetic radiation—x rays, for example—the QF is taken to be 1. The QF for neutrons is open to some dispute, but is often taken to be 10, the argument being that neutrons can induce nuclear reactions that cause additional tissue damage. Cosmic rays are predominantly very energetic protons, which cause spallation reactions in tissue and produce neutrons. The cosmic-ray QF should exceed 1 for the same reasons as it does for neutrons, yet the author of ref. 11. R. C. Weast, ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, vol. 69, CRC Press, Boca Raton (1988), p. F163. uses 1 for the cosmic-ray QF.The era of jet travel was inaugurated with the Boeing 707 in 1958; some jet airliner crew members have retired after 40 years. Many crew members have been women of child-bearing age; they have not produced an excess of children with birth defects. That the insurance industry has not singled out jet airliner crews for increased premiums for life or health coverage suggests that the excess radiation exposure has not posed a health threat. Perhaps it is time to reconsider the effects of low-level radiation exposures.REFERENCESection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCE <<CITING ARTICLES1. R. C. Weast, ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, vol. 69, CRC Press, Boca Raton (1988), p. F163. Google Scholar© 2001 American Institute of Physics.

A study of cockpit crew teamwork behaviors

Pilots of commercial airlines comprise generally ex‐military pilots and pilots with purely civil craft experience. There are four major configurations of a cockpit crew based on the composition of the pilots holding the two positions of captain and first officer. The hypotheses of this study are that the team composition will contribute to different teamwork characteristics in terms of teamwork harmony, teamwork conflict, and crisis handling. The hypotheses propose that these characteristics derive from the differences in background, work experience and the training conditions of these two distinct types of pilot. Scheffe’s post hoc statistical results support two of these three hypotheses, i.e. teamwork conflict and the handling of crises. The implications of these findings for management and training are discussed further.

Crew Climate and Performance: Use of Group Diagrams Based on Behavioral Ratings

A method of depicting crew climate using a group diagram based on behavioral ratings is described. Behavioral ratings were made of twelve three-person professional airline cockpit crews in full-mission simulations. These crews had been part of an earlier study in which captains had been had been grouped into three personality types, based on pencil and paper pre-tests. We found that low error rates were related to group climate variables as well as positive captain behaviors.

Error, stress, and teamwork in medicine and aviation: cross sectional surveys

Objectives: To survey operating theatre and intensive care unit staff about attitudes concerning error, stress, and teamwork and to compare these attitudes with those of airline cockpit crew.Design: Cross sectional...

Radiation-induced acute myeloid leukaemia and other cancers in commercial jet cockpit crew: a population-based cohort study

Cockpit crews receive cosmic radiation during flight operations. The increasing total accumulated dose over the years might be expected to cause increased frequency of radiation-induced cancer. The rate should increase with number of flight hours per year, number of years of flying, and higher flight altitude. If the cumulative radiation exposure during flights is of concern, we would expect an increased cancer risk to be present among those crew members flying jets. Cockpit-crew medical records (pilots and flight engineers) from 1946 onwards, holding information on the individual, flight hours, aircraft type, and date of commercial certification and decertification, were linked to the population-based Danish Cancer Registry, the central population registry, and the National Death Index. Altogether 3877 cockpit crew members could be traced for follow-up, accruing 61095 person-years at risk in 3790 men and 661 in 87 women. The total number of cancers observed was 169 whereas 153.1 were expected (standardised incidence ratio 1.1 [95% CI 0.94-1.28]). Significantly increased risks of acute myeloid leukaemia (5.1 [1.03-14.91]), skin cancer, excluding melanoma (3.0 [2.12-4.23]), and total cancer (1.2 [1.00-1.53]) were observed among Danish male jet cockpit crew members flying more than 5000 h. Increased risk of malignant melanoma irrespective of aircraft type was also found among those flying more than 5000 h. Both malignant melanoma and skin cancer were found in excess in cockpit crew members with a long flying history, probably attributable to sun exposure during leisure time at holiday destinations. We cannot confirm previously reported increased risk of brain and rectal cancers in pilots. The study shows that male cockpit crew members in jets flying more than 5000 h have significantly increased frequency of acute myeloid leukaemia.

Radiation Protection: The Specific Case of Cabin Crew

Exposure to cosmic radiation is one important element of the in-flight working environment. The new requirements of the Council Directive 96/29 Euratom set out basic safety standards in radiation protection which are particularly important to cabin crew. There are two major reasons why they relate Specifically to this category of crew member. One is the great diversity of, or in some cases the lack of, medical requirements and surveillance. The situation in this area notably differs from that relating to the cockpit crew, who have an aeronautical licence with detailed and rigid medical requirements. The other major reason is the very high percentage of women among the cabin crew (from 65% to 100% depending on the airline concerned), which emphasises the question of protection during pregnancy. The issue of radiation protection of aircrew therefore differs not only according to country and airline, but also according to the crew members concerned. The need is stressed for a harmonised application of the new requirements of the Council Directive 96/29 Euratom and, hopefully in the future, for equivalent protective provisions to be applied worldwide.

Analysis and Evaluation of Cockpit Concept and Crew Concept of a Two-Seater Combat Aircraft

The two-seater combat aircraft that went into service with the German Airforce in 1981 and with the German Navy in 1982 was based on operational requirements and technical standards of the 70's and earlier. Changes in the operational goals forced requirements for improving, conserving, and adjusting performance capabilities and made various equipment necessary being added to the current system. During the realization of these modifications ergonomic aspects of the cockpit concept and the crew concept were largely neglected. An analysis and evaluation of human-machine-interactions and crew coordination in the cockpit was carried out, including analysis of tasks, loads, and demands on crew members and task allocations between crew and machine resources depending on various typical airforce missions. In addition, extensive workload experiments were conducted with simulated and real flights, tailored for airforce missions. Demands on crew members in simulated flights were measured with questionnaires and rating scales SWORD and ZEIS, and in real flights with questionnaires and rating scales ZEIS and NASA-TLX/ZEIS combination. Experimental results indicated a wide range of demands and high workload on crew members during specific mission segments. Furthermore, extensive recommendations were established to reduce workload, optimize crew members interaction, and ensure the required performance level. This resulted in a changed cockpit concept with major effects on the crew concept. Beside these more technical aspects social aspects were taken into account and recommendations to improve the actual training concept were worked out to optimize crew members interactions and system performance.

D104 軽症耐糖能障害におけるライフスタイルへの介入と糖代謝の改善

D104 軽症耐糖能障害におけるライフスタイルへの介入と糖代謝の改善

Cockpit-cabin communication: I. A tale of two cultures.

Several dramatic accidents have emphasized certain deficiencies in cockpit-cabin coordination and communication. There are historical, organizational, environmental, psychosocial, and regulatory factors that have led to misunderstandings, problematic attitudes, and suboptimal interactions between the cockpit and cabin crews. Our research indicates the basic problem is that these two crews represent two distinct and separate cultures and that this separation serves to inhibit satisfactory teamwork. A survey was conducted at two airlines to measure attitudes of cockpit and cabin crews concerning the effectiveness of their communications. This article includes recommendations for the improvement of communications across the two cultures.