Evidence for the Relationship between Pilot Effectiveness, Surface Anomalies, and Operational Efficiency Data

To justify an investment in a safety-related program, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration must develop a business justification with a positive return on investment. While the assumed value of an avoided aviation accident is quite large, the rarity of such events many times makes a business case built strictly on safety metrics untenable. It is therefore helpful to examine if there are efficiency or capacity impacts related to the investment. One area of interest to the aviation safety community is fatigue and pilot effectiveness. Previous research has examined the connection between operator fatigue and accident frequency. In this study, we examine the relationships between pilot effectiveness, measured surface anomalies, and archived operational efficiency data at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Memphis International Airport to provide evidence to support future taxi path conformance or crew rest requirement investments.