Pilot Activities and the Level of Cockpit Automation

We examined how the frequency of 23 activities varied as a function of the level of cockpit automation. The pilots' activities were recorded in actual revenue-generating line operations at 7.5-sec intervals during climbs and descents during 193 flights in 2 models of the B737-200 and in 2 models of the B737-300. Eight of the 23 activities were assumed not to be affected by the duration of the climbs and descents and were analyzed using analysis of variance. The observed frequencies of the other 15 activities were analyzed using the length of the climb and descent as a covariate. The results showed that the frequency of housekeeping activities and communication activities tended not to be affected by the level of cockpit automation. In contrast, the frequency of most of the activities related to flight path control varied with the level of cockpit automation.