Factors that Affect Pilot Response Times to Alerts: Findings From a Literature Review and Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) Reports

Abstract

Factors affecting the time it takes a human to respond to an alert may include alerting system design, operator characteristics such as age or experience, or the operating environment. Using the aviation domain as one example, this variety of factors makes it difficult to specify what “acceptable” pilot response times are, as one cannot assign a value that will be consistent across systems, people, and situations. Further, characteristics of the pilot population, operations, and flight deck technologies change over time, so that average pilot response times derived in the past may not represent accurately expected response times for pilots flying modern aircraft. This paper compiles the findings from both a literature review and a survey of NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) reports, documenting that the confluence of factors affecting pilot responses to alerts results in response times that are often longer and more variable than might otherwise be expected.