The sustained attention characteristics of flight crews on exempt and non-exempt flights

ABSTRACT

We analyzed the characteristics of sustained attention changes in flight crews during exempt and non-exempt flights. Fourteen pilots (aged 30–43 y) participated in this study, with seven involved in each flight type, all of which were intercontinental (China to North America). Pilots completed continuous performance tests (CPT) at the required flight stages without compromising safety while on duty. No significant differences in sleep and sustained attention emerged between the exempt and non-exempt flight crews. Pilots’ fatigue was highest in the early morning hours. Their general stability of efficiency increased during the day and decreased at night. Non-exempt flight crews appeared to sacrifice reaction rate to improve accuracy. Exempt crews appeared to increase their test proficiency. The task stability time of the non-exempt flight crews was better than that of the exempt ones. Short-term stability was better for exempt inbound flights rather than for outbound ones. Pilots were more prone to error runs as their total time awake increased, especially on non-exempt flights. The addition of crew members to exempt flights, allowance for more in-flight rest shifts, and over-stop rest on non-exempt flights may alleviate pilot fatigue and preserve alertness.

KEYWORDS:

• Aviation safety
• pilot fatigue
• exempt flight
• non-exempt flight
• intercontinental flights
• sustained attention

Acknowledgments

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1933122) and the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (3122019186) for funding the research work. We thank our professor and the co-authors for their contributions to this research. We also thank all the expert reviewers and Editage (www.editage.cn) for their expertise in English language editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Research on the Mechanism of ATC Controller Alertness on the Performance of Control Tasks, The Key Technologies of Early Warning under Grant [U1933122], and the Fundamental Research Fund for the Central University of China under Grant [3122019186].