The effects of automation on crew coordination in the corporate cockpit

The implementation of automated systems in the cockpit has somewhat changed pilots' working environment. The present study, which focus is on corporate aviation, looks at the influence automation has on crew coordination. A questionnaire including both Likert scale and open-ended questions was sent to 880 qualified pilots. A descriptive as well as an inferential analysis of the data provided by the Likert scale questions was conducted. Out of the five variables tested, the only one to generate any significant differences (p<.05) was aircraft category. These results were further confirmed by the responses given to the open-ended questions. Overall, pilots pointed out the importance of verbal communication and cockpit resource management training, emphasizing the strong need for crew coordination. They also cited automation as contributing to some changes in the role of pilots and some improvements in situational awareness.