| The mortality rate for accidents involving visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) is disproportionately high. "Over the past ten years, 86% of VFR-into-IMC accidents have been fatal, causing 518 individual deaths" (AOPA, 2010, p. 18). This creates significant uncertainty about why these accidents happen. Therefore, to better understand the root causes of VFR flight into IMC, the present project explores the current state of the art of flight training.;Accident data show that VFR flight into IMC is partially due to training and experience deficiencies and partially due to misplaced motivation on behalf of pilots (Burian, Orasanu & Hitt, 2000; Goh & Wiegmann, 2002; O'Hare & Owen, 2002). However, laboratory-derived findings of VFR flight into IMC have failed to support prominent psychological theories of decision making (Wiegmann, Goh & O'Hare, 2002). Results of a fine-grained analysis of previous simulation research revealed that this disparity across data sources is primarily due to the fact that current weather simulation is inadequate for training and investigating pilots' weather-related decision skills.;Since it would be unsafe to send pilots into actual inclement weather to gain this expertise, high-fidelity weather simulation was developed as a proof of concept to examine this issue. An experiment was conducted in which 16 VFR-only pilots and 16 instrument-rated pilots flew a simulated cross-country flight in marginal VFR weather that encountered IMC. Their procedural performance and demographic variables were analyzed to identify key flight skills and experience-related factors associated with good weather-related decision making.;IMC experience was found to be the only significant demographic factor that promoted proper communication skills such as analyzing in-flight weather reports to support good weather-related decisions during the simulated flight experiment. Total previous flight time and IFR-rating were not significant factors. These findings speak to the high fidelity of the weather simulation utilized in this experiment, and they shed light on the inadequacies of flight training discussed herein that restrict pilots from accessing challenging weather scenarios during training. Results from this study provide empirical support for the deployment of high-fidelity weather simulation for advanced training and investigation of pilots' weather-related decisions. |
