@article{ref1,
title="Flying the needles: flight deck automation erodes fine-motor flying skills among airline pilots",
journal="Human factors",
year="2016",
author="Haslbeck, Andreas and Hoermann, Hans-Juergen",
volume="58",
number="4",
pages="533-545",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of practice and training on fine-motor flying skills during a manual instrument landing system (ILS) approach. <br><br>BACKGROUND: There is an ongoing debate that manual flying skills of long-haul crews suffer from a lack of flight practice due to conducting only a few flights per month and the intensive use of automation. However, objective evidence is rare. <br><br>METHOD: One hundred twenty-six randomly selected airline pilots had to perform a manual flight scenario with a raw data precision approach. Pilots were assigned to four equal groups according to their level of practice and training by fleet (short-haul, long-haul) and rank (first officer, captain). <br><br>RESULTS: Average ILS deviation scores differed significantly in relation to the group assignments. The strongest predictor variable was fleet, indicating degraded performance among long-haul pilots. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Manual flying skills are subject to erosion due to a lack of practice on long-haul fleets: All results support the conclusion that recent flight practice is a significantly stronger predictor for fine-motor flying performance than the time period since flight school or even the total or type-specific flight experience. APPLICATION: Long-haul crews have to be supported in a timely manner by adequate training tailored to address manual skills or by operational provisions like mixed-fleet flying or more frequent transitions between short-haul and long-haul operation.<br><br>© 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0018-7208",
doi="10.1177/0018720816640394",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018720816640394"
}