Ergonomics and Human Factors in Aviation

Human Factors and Ergonomics

Human Factors/Ergonomics

The convergent scientific disciplines of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) are primarily concerned with how human beings interact with technological systems in all their various forms. HF/E has focused particularly on ways of improving the quality and safety of human work. Contemporary HF/E encompasses the imagination, design, fabrication, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of all te...

Aviation Human Factors Division

We describe three applications of an attention-situation awareness model to predicting pilot performance in high fidelity flight simulations. The model incorporates the SEEV model of selective attention, in which eye movements are driven by salience, expectancy and value, and are inhibited by the effort required to move the eyes over longer distance and of concurrent tasks. In application 1, we...

Human Factors & Aviation Medicine

A 1992 U.S. report found that the injury rate per 100 full-time workers for U.S. airline employees was 13.0 percent, compared with [a] private-sector average of 8.6 percent, “an indication of the hazardous nature of the airline industry.” During the period between 1978 and 1988, the report said there was no significant change in the rate. The report, which examined 1988 statistical data on occu...

Human Factors & Aviation Medicine

Professional airline pilots should be in far better health at all ages than the general population. Every six months, U.S. airline pilots must undergo a first-class flight physical examination, which is defined and required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). To continue flying as pilots, they must pass the physical examination. Airline pilots reach age 60 (their mandatory-retire...