Effects of headset, flight workload, hearing ability, and communications message quality on pilot performance

Area of Science:

• Aviation psychology
• Human factors in aviation
• Auditory perception and performance

Background:

• Army aviators require hearing loss waivers based on speech intelligibility in quiet.
• Hearing loss varies among aviators, potentially affecting performance with flight workload and communication demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of hearing loss, headset type, flight workload, and communication quality on pilot performance.
• To identify key factors influencing aviator performance in a simulated rotary-wing environment.

Main Methods:

• Twenty army helicopter pilots participated in simulator flights.
• Each pilot experienced three flights with varying headset configurations, workload levels, and communication signal quality.
• Objective flight parameters (heading, altitude, airspeed deviation) and command read-backs were measured.

Main Results:

• High flight workload, particularly with poor communication signal quality, significantly degraded flight performance.
• Speech intelligibility was also negatively affected by high workload and poor communication.

Conclusions:

• Flight safety evaluations for helicopter pilots should consider factors beyond basic hearing thresholds and quiet speech intelligibility.
• Hearing-impaired pilots should utilize assistive communication technology and avoid passive headsets in high-noise cockpits.
• Recommendations for flight status and headset use must integrate flight environment effects with individual hearing levels.