Human Factors for Civil Flight Deck Design

Human error is now the main cause of aircraft accidents. However, in many cases the pilot simply falls into a trap that has been left for him/her by the poor design of the flight deck. This book addresses the human factors issues pertinent to the design of modern flight decks. Comprising of invited chapters from internationally recognised experts in human factors and flight deck design, contributions span the world of industry, government research establishments and academia. The book brings together the practical experience of professionals across the human factors and flight deck design disciplines to provide a single, all-encompassing volume. Divided into two main parts, part one of the book examines: the benefits of human engineering; flight deck design process; head down display design; head-up display design; auditory warning systems; flight control systems, control inceptors and aircraft handling qualities; flight deck automation; and human-computer interaction on the flight deck and anthropometrics for flight deck design. Part two is concerned with flight deck evaluation - the human factors evaluation of flight decks; human factors in flight test and the regulatory viewpoint Of interest to all human factors professionals operating in high technology, high-risk dynamic industries as well as those engaged directly in aerospace activities, the book will also be of key importance to engineers with an interest in human factors for flight deck design, academics and third year and post-graduate human factors/ergonomics and psychology students.

Contents: Flight Deck Design: Flight deck design and integration for commercial air transports, Brian D. Kelly; Flight deck design process, Florence Reuzeau and René Nibbelke; Using cognitive function analysis to prevent controlled flight into terrain, Guy A. Boy and Daniel Ferro; Head-down flight deck display design, Don Harris; Head-up displays, Christopher D. Wickens, Patricia May Ververs and Steve Fadden; Warning system design in civil aircraft, Jan M. Noyes, Alison F. Starr and Mandana L.N. Kazem; Handling qualities and their implications for flight deck design, Edmund Field; On the other side of promise: what should we automate today?, Sidney Dekker; Anthropometrics for flight deck design, Ted Lovesey; Stressors in the flight deck environment, Don Harris. Flight Deck Evaluation: Evaluating the flight deck, Peter G.A.M. Jorna and Piet J. Hoogeboom; Human factors in flight test and flight deck evaluation, Gideon Singer; Assessing the human hazard, Hazel Courteney; Index.

Don Harris is Reader in the Department of Human Factors and Air Transport, Cranfield University, UK. He has written numerous papers, mostly in the field of human factors in aviation, edited Human Factors For Flight Deck Certification (Cranfield University Press, 1997) and has been a guest editor for the International Journal of Cognitive Ergonomics. He is a member of the Ergonomics Society and the International Association of Applied Psychologists. He is joint Main Editor, with Helen Muir, of Human Factors in Aerospace Safety, An International Journal, and was the founding convener of the International Conferences on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics.