Autogenic feedback training improves pilot performance during emergency flying conditions.

Studies have shown that autonomous mode behavior (AMB) is one cause of aircraft fatalities caused by pilot error. In AMB cases, the pilot is in a high state of psychological and physiological arousal and tends to focus on one problem, while ignoring more critical information. The following study, conducted under the auspices of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames Research Center, examined the effect of training in physiological self-recognition and regulation, as a means of improving crew cockpit performance. Seventeen pilots were assigned to the treatment and control groups matched for accumulated flight hours.