Pilots' Fixation Patterns During Taxiing and the Effects of Visibility

INTRODUCTION: Visual performance is important for safe and accurate taxiing operations. Visibility is associated with navigation errors during taxiing. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of visibility on pilots' fixation patterns during taxiing. The interaction between visibility and flight experience was also examined.METHODS: Both experienced and less experienced pilots participated in the study. They were instructed to perform simulated taxiing tasks in two visibility conditions: clear day vs. low visibility. A mixed-model analysis of variance was performed to determine the main and interaction effects of 'visibility' and 'flight experience' on fixation data in each area of interest (AOI).RESULTS: The results showed that experienced pilots' fixation counts reduced on the electronic centralized aircraft monitoring (ECAM) area, but increased out the middle view (OTWM) and right view out of the window (OTWR) in low visibility than in clear day, while fixation counts among less experienced pilots increased on the primary flight display (PFD) and ECAM areas, but did not change significantly OTWM and OTWR in low visibility. Fixation duration increased by 59.8%, 9.8%, and 7.9% in ECAM, OTWL, and OTWR, respectively, in low visibility than in clear day.CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that pilots pay more attention and have higher perceptual load in the low visibility condition to maintain taxiing accuracy, and more experienced pilots make more visual efforts to extract information from AOIs outside the cockpit in the low visibility condition. These findings provide practical implications for safe and accurate taxiing operations.Zhang X, Qu X, Xue H, Liu J.