Human factors issues of flight deck automation

It is widely acknowledged that commercial transport aircraft automation has improved the economy of airliners, and that accident rates for advanced technology commercial aircraft are lower than those of comparable conventional technology aircraft. Nevertheless, criticism of the human factors of modern flight deck automation is common among pilots and other aviation professionals (e.g., Billings, 1997). Until recently, though, there was no comprehensive list of flight deck automation human factors issues, much less a comprehensive summary of evidence (data and other reasonably objective information) related to those issues. As a result, avionics designers have been somewhat in the dark about the usability of the equipment they have created to help improve the efficiency and safety of commercial air transportation. This paper summarizes a study we conducted to identify and compile evidence related to flight deck automation human factors issues. To be useful to those individuals directly involved in the development of future automation systems, the paper focuses primarily on those issues related to automation design.