This study was based on a portion of data collected in the first half of a proposed two-part survey examining the effects of unstable airline working conditions on pilots and their families. The survey was a descriptive, exploratory investigation of two pilot groups (n = 425). Data were drawn from a random sample of those pilots (n = 205) employed by an airline with chronic unstable working conditions, and those pilots (n = 220) employed by airlines with stable conditions. Several major variables from a multi-dimensional systems model of stress were selected to evaluate differences in stress symptoms, life event strains, family resources, and perceptions of control between pilot groups and between spouse groups. A major hypothesis tested by this report was that increases in pilot stress symptomology would be related to unstable airline working conditions. When differences between pilot groups and spouse groups were analyzed on the Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE), a self report symptoms of stress scale (SOS), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES III), and the Attribution Questionnaire, pilots and spouses found to have the highest stress symptoms and total family strains were those from the unstable airline. In addition, a large subtotal of pilot families across carriers were found to be low functioning families. The results of the study document the importance of unstable airline working conditions as an explanatory variable in examining pilot stress. It is suggested that understanding the pilot stress process depends on the recognition of work/family/individual systems interdependence. Implications of findings and directions for future research were presented. / M.S.

Pilots and other aircrew members are often required to perform tasks involving a substantial amount of mediational or cognitive activity. Generally speaking, workload estimation techniques have not been tested to determine their relative sensitivity and intrusion to mediational piloting tasks. An experiment comparing the sensitivity and intrusion of eight workload estimation techniques was conducted using a mediational loading task in a three-degrees-of-freedom moving-base aircraft simulator. The primary task mediational loading required the pilots to solve a variety of navigational problems while maintaining straight-and-level flight. The presented problems were sorted prior to the experiment into low, medium, and high difficulty problems. The eight techniques included opinion measures (modified Cooper-Harper rating scale and multi-descriptor rating scale), spare mental capacity measures (time estimation and tapping regularity), primary task measures (mediational reaction time and control movements per unit time), and physiological measures (pulse rate variability and pupil dilation). A sensitive technique was defined as a technique which indicated statistical differences of scores across the three mediational load levels. An intrusive technique was defined as a technique which significantly changed the primary task measures compared to the primary task measures obtained in a control condition. One opinion measure (modified Cooper-Harper measure (time (mediational rating scale), one estimation), and one spare mental capacity primary task measure reaction time) demonstrated sensitivity. Mediational reaction time demonstrated sensitivity to all levels of load. The other two showed partial sensitivity to load. One spare mental capacity measure (time estimation) demonstrated intrusion on two primary task measures (mediational reaction time and percent error response). / Ph. D.

The focus of this creative six-hour non-fiction project has been the documentation of personal narratives (i.e., oral histories) of Huntington County pilots and aviatrixes who flew during the early to mid-twentieth century. Twenty profiles have been chronicled in alphabetical order. Types of flight experiences range from leisure, to military and private instruction, to cross-country trips, to wartime flight, and finally, to the work of an aerial photographer. From a local standpoint, regional aviation history has been documented. On a national scale, Huntington County aviation represents an era of flight occurring nationwide. By the inclusion of photographs, logbook entries, letters, journals, and poems a pictorial history reveals a depth of story that words alone can not convey. Each story in this project was read numerous times to the interviewee to ensure that names, quotes, dates, and facts were correct. Defining Flight documents a time period of aviation when men and women were adventurous, curious, daring, and willing to test the winds with kite-like machines. / Department of English

D.Litt et Phil. (Clinical Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This project investigated the relations between recalled job-satisfaction, ability, and task demands in Vietnam era helicopter aviators. It attempted to detect and describe factors present in a dangerous combat environment which may influence some individuals to enjoy and take satisfaction at being exposed to, creating, and participating in the dangerous and life threatening violence involved in helicopter combat. Participants were 30 pilots and crew members retired from the 335th Assault Helicopter Company who were all actively involved in combat in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. This study found that developing a love of war is correlated with anger during combat. The love of war is not correlated with PTSD processes nor is it correlated with specific personality dimensions. The love of war research is a new area. The questions were used to operationalize the love of war represent a significant limitation. This method of operationalizing the love of war concept does not make fine discriminations has questionable content validity. To facilitate accuracy in discriminating between participants when conducting future research in the area, researchers could benefit from constructing a measure with greater content validity.

Every day aircraft pilots must successfully resolve significant inflight situations and then manage the possibility of residual psychological and physiological stress. Previous research has shown primary attention is given to presignificant event training and stress management, however there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding postsignificant event stress within the aviation profession. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to use the observational lens of stress theory and survey U.S. pilots who have experienced an inflight emergency, looking for correlation between factors such as age, gender, flight experience, and training against a pilot's self-reported level of residual stress. Using snowball sampling methodology, 101 pilots were anonymously surveyed, with 89% responding that they had some level of residual stress via the Impact of Event Scale-Revised instrument. Using multiple linear regression analysis, the correlation between 9 personal and professional characteristics and pilot's stress level was significant, at R2 =.22, adjusted R2=.14, F(9, 91) = 2.8, p < .01. The sample's correlation coefficient was .47, indicating that approximately 22% of the variance in the residual stress was accounted for by the 9 personal and professional characteristics. Findings from this research will help clarify how pilot training and demographics can affect postsignificant event stress. This knowledge will be an important contribution to the existing literature and enhance social initiatives though an increased awareness of residual stress within the pilot profession. The results can be used to increase aviation safety by enabling the industry and government entities to develop and implement effective stress training initiatives.

Since human errors are one of the major causes of flight accidents, the design and operation of the modern aircraft system deals with them seriously. Particularly, the pilot workload on aviation causes human errors. Whenever new procedures are introduced and operated, the aircraft capabilities have been checked in every aspect. However, there has been little study on the impact of the new procedures such as LDLP, SCDA, SATS, and Steep Angle approach on the pilot performance, workload, and stress. In this study, different methods have been tried to understand the relationship between new procedures and the pilots in terms of performance, workload, and stress. The flight factors (e.g. flight experience, gliding angle, and approach area) were examined by the pilot performance, workload, and stress at the "Final Approach to L/D" phase using the single engine Cessna 172R type flight simulator. Five students and five instructor pilots from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Dayton Beach, Florida, participated and they flew under four different simulation tasks of gliding angle and approach area. Their Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and NASA-Task Load Index (TLX) were measured to determine their stress level and subjective workload, respectively. In addition, Landing Performance (LP) data (e.g. landing distance, landing speed) and Above Glide Path Tracking Performance (AGPTP) data were also collected to evaluate pilot performance. As a result, the type of approach area showed a significant effect on pilot performance, workload, and stress determined by ANOVA (HRV, TLX, LP, AGPTP: all are p < .05). Flying over "Populated" area (e.g. a large city) resulted in lower pilot performance and higher pilot workload and stress than that over "Non-Populated" area (e.g. a grass field). Similarly, the levels of a gliding angle showed the statistical difference on the performance, workload, and stress (HRV, TLX, and LP: all are p < .05). During the flight with 4.5 degree, the pilots showed lower performance with higher workload and stress. However, the levels of the flight experience did not have any influence on the performance, workload, and stress levels (AGPTP, LP, TLX, HRV: all are p > .05). In conclusion, flying in Populated area and flying with a 4.5 degree gliding angle increases the workload and stress level of the pilots. In addition, when the pilots were flying over Populated area at Final Approach to L/D phase, they showed lower performance on tracking the glide path. Based on the results, stresses and workload can have a significant impact on flight performance. Therefore, in order to reduce the workload and stress that can cause human errors, it is highly recommended to carefully examine the impact of new flight procedures on pilot workload and stress before they are implemented.

No description available.

The recent emergence and growth of the regional airlines in the United States has placed a strain on the supply of pilots that are needed for staffing scheduled flights. This present pilot shortage is presenting challenges for 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs to produce more pilot graduates in less time to meet the staffing demands made by the regional airlines. With this shortage, the pressing issues of how to train and hire qualified pilots to fly technologically advanced regional airline jet aircraft have forced the industry to demand more aviation skills from a shrinking market of aviation pilot candidates. Colleges and universities with aviation programs have been forced to compete with outside private aviation schools on a larger scale in the training of collegiate students for airline employment opportunities. The primary purpose of this study was to expose any inadequacies in the higher-education aviation curricula and to propose changes needed to better qualify aviation students in the hiring process at regional air carriers. This study concentrated on the principle that higher education is necessary for advancing a pilot's aptitudes and abilities to perform the highly technical tasks of a professional pilot in a regional airline environment. The avenues of obtaining aviation experience along with flight certificates and ratings in an academic environment from 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs is examined, along with qualifying these schools with the criteria regional airlines expects from new pilots hired. A survey was used to poll the pilots from two regional airlines that were based in Texas. By analyzing the responses from the returned surveys, the quality of training that existed in higher education aviation programs was revealed. The study confirmed the value of advising a path of higher education for students embarking on an aviation career as a pilot for a regional airline. The study concluded that 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs are meeting the present demands made by the regional airlines.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Background Occupational low back pain (LBP) has been described as a significant burden to society. Although there is uncertainty and conflicting studies on the exact causes and combination of causes of LBP, it has been found that occupations which require prolonged sitting periods and have exposure to physical factors such as whole body vibration (WBV) and / or awkward posture, results in increased likelihood for LBP. Pilots are not sheltered from the development of LBP, with the lifetime prevalence of LBP varying from 31.5% to a significant 82%. Additionally, point prevalence varies significantly between 5.1% and 68%, which illustrates that individual pilot and / or occupational factors may contribute to specific pilot subgroups. This could apply to commercial pilots, who use seats that were found to be ineffective in terms of their depth and inclination, therefore limiting the height and impact of the lumbar support. There is a paucity of studies performed on LBP relating to commercial pilots, specifically, on their unique occupational setting. Research is therefore warranted to illustrate the possible risk factors to which they are exposed to, as impeded performance may lead to catastrophic consequences if a pilot’s ability to complete actions critical to flight becomes hindered. Aim To determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in commercial pilots and identify possible risk factors that pilots are exposed to. Study designs The study transpired as a cross sectional questionnaire survey. Participants Study comprised of 100 commercial pilots registered with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and affiliated with the various participating companies utilizing O.R. Tambo International Airport. Methodology All commercial pilots registered with the SACAA and who make use of the O.R.Tambo International Airport (operate through or from) and affiliated with the participating companies during the research study, was approached for participation. Pilots were required to sign and agree to the letter of information and informed consent, as well as the confidentiality agreement. Questionnaires were distributed and all documents were collected, following completion thereof. Pilots were not allocated to more than one group during the data collection (recording) phase of the study. Subgroup analysis was however not excluded in the analysis. IBM SPSS version 21 was used for analysis. A p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Demographics of the pilots were described in the same manner as in the case of categorical variables, and using summary statistics such as mean, standard deviation and range for quantitative variables. Prevalence and characteristics of the low back pain is described using relative frequency and percentages, with 95% confidence intervals. Associations between risk factors and low back pain was identified with log linear regression analysis and tested using Pearson’s chi square test in the case of categorical variables and t-tests in the case of continuous variables. Results The lifetime prevalence of LBP amongst commercial pilots was 80.8%, with the annual prevalence reaching 68.7%. Majority of commercial pilots were white, married males, with nearly the entire population having reached similar educational levels. Considering the male predominance of this population, gender was significantly associated with LBP. Although the female population was much smaller than the male population, it was also found that females were six times more at risk of developing LBP; however the risk was not statistically significant. Awkward posture such as twisting and being stressed at work were found to be significantly related to LBP. Having a history as an ex-smoker or non-smoker was found to be a risk for LBP development. BMI was also significantly related to LBP; however, an inverse relationship is indicated. Having a subjective rating of good health versus excellent health was also an indicator of risk for LBP. Conclusion: Commercial pilots have a significant risk for LBP development. It was found that subjective ratings of own health was a good indicator of LBP whereby good health versus excellent health, was a significant risk factor. Although greater portions of the populace are white males, normally less at risk, a significant lifetime and annual prevalence of LBP was found. Furthermore, the small female population had potentially considerable contribution to the prevalence of LBP through their significant odds ratio. Being a current smoker carried less risk in comparison to a history of an ex-smoker or non-smoker, which further complicates the so often debated contribution of this proposed risk factor. Interesting results were found through the inverse proportional relationship that exists between BMI and LBP, whereby every unit increase in BMI results in a relative decreased risk for LBP development. Majority of the proposed risk factors of LBP was not found to be significant, except stress and twisting, which were found to be common risk factors amongst commercial pilots.