Air-ground integration experiment.

Technical notePDFTech ReportDOT/FAA/CT-TN02/06Air traffic controlAir traffic controllersAirline pilotsConflict managementData collectionFlight crewsAviation safetyWorkloadNew JerseyCaliforniaWilliam J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)DiMeo,Karen.Sollenberger, RandyKopardekar, ParimalLozito, SandyMackintosh, Margaret-AnneCardosi, KimMcCloy, TomWilliam J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of the Chief Scientist for Human FactorsAmes Research CenterNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Safety/AirworthinessNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Aviation Safety/AirworthinessUS Transportation CollectionThe concept of free flight is intended to provide increased flexibility and efficiency throughout the global airspace system. This ideacould potentially shift aircraft separation responsibility from air traffic controllers to flight crews creating a \ue2\u20ac\u2dcshared-separation\ue2\u20ac\u2122authority environment. A real-time, human-in-the-loop study was conducted using facilities at NASA Ames Research Center and theFAA William J. Hughes Technical Center. The goal was to collect data from controllers and pilots on shared-separation procedures,information requirements, workload, and situation awareness. The experiment consisted of four conditions that varied levels ofcontroller and flight crew separation responsibilities. Twelve controllers and six pilots were provided with enhanced traffic andconflict alerting systems. Results indicated that while safety was not compromised, pilots and controllers had differing opinionsregarding the application of these new tools and the feasibility of the operational concept. This limited investigation demonstrated theneed to further explore the shared-separation concept