Pilot performance, strategy, and workload while executing approaches at steep angles and with lower landing minima.

Objective: We examined the willingness and ability of general aviation pilots to execute steep approaches in low-visibility conditions into nontowered airports.Background: Executing steep approaches in poor weather is required for a proposed Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) that consists of small aircraft flying direct routes to a network of regional airports.Method: Across two experiments, 17 pilots rated for Instrument Flight Rules at George Mason University or Virginia Tech flew a Cessna 172R simulator into Blacksburg, Virginia. Pilots were familiarized with the simulator and asked to fly approaches with either a 200- or 400-foot ceiling (at approach angles of 3 degrees, 5 degrees, and 7 degrees in the first experiment, 3 degrees and 6 degrees in the second). Pilots rated subjective workload and the simulator recorded flight parameters for each set of approaches.Results: Approaches with a 5 degree approach angle produced safe landings with minimal deviations from normal descent control configurations and were rated as having a moderate level of workload. Approaches with 6 degree and 7 degree approach angles produced safe landings but high workload ratings. Pilots reduced power to control the speed of descent and flew the aircraft slightly above the glide path to gain time to control the landing.Conclusion: Although the 6 degree and 7 degree approaches may not be practical for routine approaches, they may be achievable in the event of an emergency.Application: Further work using other aircraft flying under a wider variety of conditions is needed before implementing SATS-type flights into airports intended to supplant or complement commercial operations in larger airports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Factors is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)