Stress in air traffic personnel : low-density towers and flight service stations.

PDFTech ReportFAA-AM-77-23DOT/FAA/AM-77/23Air traffic controllersStress (Physiology)Stress (Psychology)AnxietyPhysiological aspectsHeart rateUrineWorkloadPsychological aspectsHuman subject testingUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteMelton, C.E.Smith, R.C.McKenzie, J.M.Wicks, S.M.Saldivar, J.T.Civil Aeromedical InstituteUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsUS Transportation CollectionStress and anxiety levels were measured in 10 air traffic control specialists (ATCS) at two low-traffic-density towers, Fayetteville (FYV), Arkansas, and Roswell (ROW), New Mexico, and in 24 flight service (FS) specialists at Oklahoma City (OKC), Oklahoma, Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Roswell, New Mexico.Physiological measurements consisted of heart rate and urine biochemical analysis for 17-ketogenic steroids, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. On-duty arousal in ATCS's and FS specialists was evident both physiologically and psychologically; such arousal was within psychologically normal limits and was generally low physiologically compared to other air traffic control (ATC) facilities that have been studied in the past. Physiological stress levels at these low-density towers and flight service stations were also low compared to other ATC facilities that were studied previously.It is concluded that it is inappropriate to describe all air traffic control work, as is commonly done in the popular press, as unusually stressful. Such accounts in the popular press tend to deal with the exceptional rather than with the typical controller or facility