SC.2: Case Study – Air Traffic Control

Approximate reading time: 2 minutes

Air traffic controllers are responsible for monitoring and directing the movement of aircraft in the sky and on the ground, a task that heavily relies on vigilance. Following are the ways in which this scenario illustratesH the seven key aspects of vigilance.

• Sustained Attention: Air traffic controllers must maintain continuous focus on their radar screens and communication channels. This sustained attention is crucial for ensuring the safe movement of aircraft, demonstrating that vigilance requires ongoing concentration to detect important events.
• Signal Detection: Controllers are trained to detect specific signals, such as aircraft icons and flight data, on their radar screens. Identifying these signals among a plethora of other screen information demonstrates the signal detection required in vigilance tasks that must identify specific, infrequent stimuli.
• Mental Endurance: The task of monitoring and directing air traffic is mentally taxing, requiring controllers to stay alert for long periods. This endurance requires mental stamina often involved in repetitive and monotonous activities.
• Error Sensitivity: Mistakes made by air traffic controllers, such as misinterpreting radar data or giving incorrect instructions to a pilot, can have severe consequences, including the risk of mid-air collisions or other accidents.
• Vigilance Decrement: Over time, an air traffic controller’s ability to stay alert and effectively monitor aircraft might decrease, a phenomenon known as vigilance decrement. This decrement, characterized by a gradual decline in the detection of critical signals, is a well-documented challenge in vigilance tasks. This could mean slower reaction times or a reduced capacity to notice sudden changes on the radar.
• Psychophysiological Factors: Factors like fatigue, stress, or boredom can significantly impact an air traffic controller’s performance.
• Environmental and Task Influences: The complexity of the airspace, the number of aircraft, weather conditions, and other environmental factors can significantly affect an air traffic controller’s ability to maintain vigilance.