Role of Memory in Air Traffic Control

Civil Aerospace Medical Institute1997PDFTech ReportGronlund, S. D.Dougherty, M. R. P.Ohrt, Daryl D.Thomson, G. L.Bleckley, M. KathrynBain, D. LArnell, FManning, C. A.United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUniversity of Oklahoma. Dept. of PsychologyUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace MedicineUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUnited StatesAir traffic controlAir traffic controllersAircraftAwarenessCognitionHuman subject testingInstructorsMemorySituation awarenessDOT/FAA/AM-97/22Final ReportWe tested air traffic controllers currently serving as instructors and tried to manipulate their memory for various aircraft flight data. In Experiment 1, the amount of control exercised (the number of control actions or communications) had little effect on memory for flight data, although we did find excellent memory for the position of aircraft on the radar display. We argued that this was the basis for the mental representation of the aircraft in the sector and may serve as the foundation for situation awareness. In Experiment 2, neither the type of control exercised nor the importance of the aircraft in the scenario consistently affected memory. We considered several reasons why we were unable to manipulate memory for flight data, including how important memory is to successful task performance and whether we tapped the relevant characteristics of the situation. Resolution of these issues will contribute to improved techniques that assess situation awareness from memory performance.119