MAKING THE GO, NO-GO DECISION BASED ON NON-TRADITIONAL WEATHER PLANNING INFORMATION: THE CHALLENGE OF MEASURING THE IMPACTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES ON PILOT’S WEATHER RELATED DECISION MAKING IN GENERAL AVIATION

Abstract

This paper explores contemporary issues regarding the challenges of quantifying improved decision making and situational awareness as it is applied to emerging tools in aviation weather information dissemination. The authors explore the phenomena of increased/improved pilot decision making due to additional visual representation of visual weather data. General concepts such as past and present flight planning tools and procedures are discussed. Additionally, the authors explore the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Alaskan Weather Camera program as a potential case study for future exploration of these concepts. A pilot survey tool was created and administered to a small test population as a part of an undergraduate Aviation Psychology course assignment. Preliminary findings and suggestions for future research are presented.