A Human Factors Analysis of the Current U.S. Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) System

We performed a human factors analysis of the format and dissemination of the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM; Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], 2002a) system to determine possible causes for dissatisfaction with the system. In the analysis, we utilized design principles developed for the FAA in the FAA Human Factors Design Guide (Wagner, Birt, Snyder, & Duncanson, 1996). The document provides guidance and information to those involved in all areas of the aviation industry for the design and evaluation of systems and equipment. This evaluation of the NOTAM system demonstrated that NOTAMs do not follow many of the basic human factors principles contained in the referenced design guide. Furthermore, analyses of NOTAMs based on the FAA design principles augmented findings from a survey (Hoeft, Kochan, & Jentsch, 2003) that suggested performance and satisfaction with the system might be greatly increased if human factors-based changes to the NOTAM system were implemented.