Human factors investigation of manual and loadable data comm messages in NextGen

Honeywell Aerospace performed a research study on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration´s NextGen Human Factors Division to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of manual entry as compared to loadable entry of uplinked clearances into the B-777 flight management system (FMS). Five flight crews flew an experimental scenario with Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearances that included a mix of single uplink messages and concatenated messages. The mean flight crew response time across all conditions was 36.7 seconds without outliers, and 44.5 seconds with outliers. Additionally, 83% of the flight crew responses were received in less than one minute, while 100% percent of their responses were received in less than two minutes. When available, flight crews used the load function (direct loading of a loadable ATC clearance into the FMS) 74% of the time. Flight crew response times for manual versus loadable ATC clearances were not statistically different. The mean response time for concatenated messages was statistically higher than for non-concatenated. Based on the study results, flight deck human machine interface (HMI) recommendations address improvements to (i) the salience of a loadable message; (ii) button logic and menu structure; and (iii) integration of the data communications and FMS interface for clearances containing required times of arrival, including the potential need for flight crew decision support. The study results and recommendations support FAA NextGen operational and certification guidance development by providing information for data communications operational approval considerations, aircraft certification considerations and air traffic operational procedures considerations.