Visual scanning in an air traffic control tower – A simulation study

Abstract Air traffic controllers at an airport tower ensure for safe and efficient movements of aircraft at the airport and its vicinity. Their decisions always depend on the current situation. To assess the relevant situational aspects information is mostly acquired visually. During take-off and landing in particular a sufficient picture of the situation is crucial to safe decision making. The acquisition process can be modelled using the SEEV model [1] taking into account the importance of an area of interest. Especially in complex high-traffic situations more areas are considered to be important. It is assumed that controllers also scan more crucial areas in complex than in simple situations. Therefore an eye tracking study was conducted in a high fidelity tower simulator. Six air traffic controllers handled IFR traffic at a local airport with simple as well as more complex situations. Their scanning behavior while giving take-off- and landing-clearances was assessed by a state-of-the-art eye tracking system. Results show similarities among participants and situations regarding visual movements while delivering clearances. Slightly more scans were made in complex than in simple situations. The attended areas indicate highly trained behavior of the controllers. The data were merged to provide reference values to be compared to real time eye tracking. The applicability of such a system as a tool to detect inattentiveness in air traffic control is discussed.