Predicting Perceived Situation Awareness of Low Altitude Aircraft in Terminal Airspace Using Probe Questions

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of subjective and objective probe questions in predicting situation awareness as measured by the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART). The data for this evaluation were taken from a previous investigation in which instrumentrated pilots flew automated ILS approaches into the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Airport while monitoring the status of patrol vehicles proximal to their approach path. At three points during a simulation run, pilots were administered a questionnaire containing seven questions designed to probe situation awareness. At the end of the run, SART was administered. We found that certain probe questions can predict SART scores. However, the usefulness of these probes requires that the questions be designed in conjunction with scenario development to ensure that operationally critical variables are being probed, and that sufficient variability in the responses allow assessments of relations with sufficient statistical power.