Experimental analysis of task prioritization training for a group of university flight technology students

Task prioritization performance was evaluated for pilots who participated in a concurrent task management (CTM) training course and pilots who did not. CTM is the process by which pilots selectively attend to high priority tasks and shed non-priority tasks. Twenty seven pilots enrolled in a university flight technology program were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Pilots flew pretest and posttest simulated flights on an FAA approved flight training device (FTD). Twenty potential task prioritization errors were embedded at 14 locations within the flight scenarios. Pretest CTM performance of the two groups was comparable. During a two week period between pretest and posttest simulated flights pilots in the experimental group participated in a CTM training course designed and taught by an FAA certified flight instructor and pilots in the control group did not.;A Mann-Whitney U test rejected the null hypothesis that there was no difference in posttest CTM errors between the groups, indicating a positive training effect for experimental group pilots. Longer term training effects were not evaluated. Different cognitive processing models described various pilot behaviors; some behaviors were described by single channel theory, some by single resource theory, and others by multiple resource theory. Mispriotization due to the interruption of an aviate task by a communicate task occurred more frequently than interruption of a navigate task by a communicate task. Fixation on the GPS navigational system caused more than half the pilots to deviate from primary aviate tasks to attend to the secondary navigate task.;Additional research with different participants is recommended. A study comparing training results between pilots who have different training backgrounds is also recommended. A longer time period between pretest and posttest and/or a longitudinal study is recommended to test for longer term training effects. Qualitative studies could also be used to enhance experiments, such as gathering responses from participants to discern the extent of their learning. Further studies using cockpits with higher levels of automation and complexity, such as new generation flat panel or 3D cockpit displays is recommended.