Mode Monitoring and Call-Outs: An Eye-Tracking Study of Two-Crew Automated Flight Deck Operations

Mode awareness has been suggested as a critical factor in safe operations of automated aircraft. This study investigated mode awareness by measuring eye point of gaze of both pilots during simulated commercial flights, while recording call-outs and tracking aircraft performance. The results of this study show that the compliance to manufacturer or air carrier procedures regarding mode monitoring and call-outs was very low. However, this did not seem to have a negative effect on the flight path or safety during our observations. Crews exhibited a proliferation of strategies to keep track of status and behavior of the automation, often with little reliance on the flight mode annunciations of the primary flight display. The data confirm the limitations of current flight mode annunciator designs, and suggest that mode awareness is a more complex phenomenon than what can be captured by measuring eye point of gaze and communication alone.