National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

Aviation Safety And Pilot Control

Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions

Committee on the Effects of Aircraft-Pilot Coupling on Flight Safety

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1997

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is interim president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and interim vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This study was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under contract No. NASW-4938. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

Committee on the Effects of Aircraft-Pilot Coupling on Flight Safety

DUANE T. McRUER (chair),

Systems Technology, Inc.

CARL S. DROSTE,

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems

R. JOHN HANSMAN, JR.,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

RONALD A. HESS,

University of California–Davis

DAVID P. LeMASTER,

Wright Laboratory

STUART MATTHEWS,

Flight Safety Foundation

JOHN D. McDONNELL,

McDonnell Douglas Aerospace

JAMES McWHA,

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group

WILLIAM W. MELVIN,

Air Line Pilots Association; Delta Air Lines

(retired)

RICHARD W. PEW,

BBN Corporation

Staff

ALAN ANGLEMAN, Study Director

JOANN CLAYTON-TOWNSEND, Director,

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

MARY MESZAROS, Senior Project Assistant

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Liaison

JOHN K. BUCKNER,

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems

(retired)

Technical Liaisons

RALPH A'HARRAH,

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

JIM ASHLEY,

Federal Aviation Administration

DAVID L. KEY,

U.S. Army

TOM LAWRENCE,

U.S. Navy

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

JOHN D. WARNER (chair),

The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington

STEVEN AFTERGOOD,

Federation of American Scientists, Washington, D.C.

GEORGE A. BEKEY,

University of Southern California, Los Angeles

GUION S. BLUFORD, JR.,

NYMA Incorporated, Brook Park, Ohio

RAYMOND S. COLLADAY,

Lockheed Martin, Denver, Colorado

BARBARA C. CORN, BC

Consulting Incorporated, Searcy, Arkansas

STEVEN D. DORFMAN,

Hughes Electronics Corp., Los Angeles, California

DONALD C. FRASER,

Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

DANIEL HASTINGS,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

FREDERICK HAUCK,

International Technology Underwriters, Bethesda, Maryland

WILLIAM H. HEISER,

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

WILLIAM HOOVER,

U.S. Air Force

(retired),

Williamsburg, Virginia

BENJAMIN HUBERMAN,

Huberman Consulting Group, Washington, D.C.

FRANK E. MARBLE,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

C. JULIAN MAY,

Tech/Ops International Incorporated, Kennesaw, Georgia

GRACE M. ROBERTSON,

McDonnell Douglas, Long Beach, California

GEORGE SPRINGER,

Stanford University, Stanford, California

Staff

JOANN CLAYTON-TOWNSEND, Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

Preface

Unfavorable aircraft-pilot coupling (APC) events include a broad set of undesirable—and sometimes hazardous—phenomena that are associated with less-than-ideal interactions between pilots and aircraft. As civil and military aircraft technologies advance, pilot-aircraft interactions are becoming more complex. Recently, there have been accidents and incidents attributed to adverse APC in military aircraft. In addition, APC has been implicated in some civilian incidents. In response to this situation, and at the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Research Council established the Committee on the Effects of Aircraft-Pilot Coupling on Flight Safety. This committee evaluated the current state of knowledge about adverse APC and processes that may be used to eliminate it from military and commercial aircraft.

The committee analyzed the information it collected and developed a set of findings and recommendations for consideration by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Army; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Federal Aviation Administration. In particular, the committee concluded that in the short term the risk posed by adverse APC could be reduced by increased awareness of APC possibilities and more disciplined application of existing tools and capabilities throughout the development, test, and certification process. However, new approaches are also needed to address the APC risk faced by many advanced aircraft designs. In order to develop new approaches, long-term efforts are needed in the area of APC assessment criteria, analysis tools, and simulation capabilities. (See Chapter 7 for a complete list of the committee's findings and recommendations.)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

The study committee met four times between September 1995 and June 1996. (See Appendix A for a list of committee members and their professional background.) To ensure that the committee's work included a broad range of perspectives, the second and third meetings included workshop presentations involving 38 outside individuals with experience in aircraft research, design, development, manufacture, test, and operations. The committee's outreach also extended internationally to France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The committee wishes to thank all of its meeting participants, who are listed in Appendix B, for their contributions to the work of the committee. The committee also expresses special thanks for the assistance provided by each of its liaisons (see page iii).

DUANE T. McRUER
COMMITTEE CHAIR

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
   

C  DETAILS OF AIRCRAFT-PILOT COUPLING EXAMPLES

 

181

   

D  RESEARCH

 

192

 

 

ACRONYMS

 

197

 

 

GLOSSARY

 

199

 

 

REFERENCES

 

203

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

Tables and Figures

TABLES

1-1a

 

Single Axis PIOs Associated with Extended Rigid Body Effective Aircraft Dynamics

 

23

1-1b

 

Single-Axis PIOs Associated with Extended Rigid Body Plus Mechanical Elaborations

 

23

1-1c

 

Single-Axis, Higher-Frequency PIOs

 

24

1-1d

 

Combined Three-Dimensional, Multi-Axis PIOs

 

24

1-2

 

Noteworthy APC Events Involving FBW Aircraft

 

26

2-1

 

Cross Section of Frequencies

 

35

4-1

 

Flying Qualities Requirements and Metrics

 

93

4-2

 

Suggested Tasks and Inputs for APC Evaluation

 

100

6-1

 

Idealized Rate-Command Controlled Element Characteristics

 

139

6-2

 

Prediction of PIO Susceptibility with Smith-Geddes Attitude-Dominant Type III Criterion for Operational and Test Aircraft

 

143

FIGURES

1-1

 

Flight recording of T-38 PIO

 

18

1-2

 

The pilot controlled-element system

 

20

1-3

 

Conditions associated with oscillatory APCs

 

21

1-4

 

Interacting constituents of oscillatory APCs

 

22

2-1

 

Taxonomy of APC phenomena

 

32

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

2-2

 

Most common FCS locations of command gain shaping, rate limiters, and position limiters

 

40

2-3a

 

Surface actuator rate limiting effects for various input amplitudes in a closed-loop surface actuator system

 

41

2-3b

 

Surface actuator rate limiting effects for various input amplitudes showing linear system response times

 

43

2-3c

 

Surface actuator rate limiting effects for various input amplitudes showing near saturation response times

 

44

2-3d

 

Surface actuator rate limiting effects for various input amplitudes showing highly saturated response times

 

45

2-4

 

Example of command gain shaping for a nonlinear element

 

48

2-5

 

JAS 39 accident time history

 

50

2-6

 

JAS 39 accident cross plot of stick deflection in roll and pitch during a roll PIO and unintended pitch up maneuver

 

51

2-7

 

YF-22 accident time history

 

58

2-8

 

YF-22 pitch rate command stick gradients

 

59

2-9

 

Time history for 777 landing derotation, baseline control law

 

61

2-10

 

Normal mode elevator control law

 

62

2-11

 

Time history for 777 attitude tracking on runway, baseline control law

 

63

2-12

 

Time history for 777 attitude tracking on runway, secondary mode

 

64

2-13

 

Time history for 777 attitude tracking on runway, revised control law

 

66

2-14

 

Time history for 777 attitude tracking on runway, revised control law plus command filter

 

67

2-15

 

Bandwidth criteria applied to landing derotation, effect of 777 control law changes on pitch attitude/column position frequency response

 

68

2-16

 

Elevator/column gain and phase, effect of 777 control law changes on landing derotation

 

69

2-17

 

C-17 test aircraft lateral oscillations during approach to landing with hydraulic system #2 inoperative

 

72

2-18

 

C-17 test aircraft lateral oscillations during approach to landing with hydraulic system #2 inoperative, continued

 

73

2-19

 

A 320 incident time history

 

75

2-20

 

Response time analysis for the advanced digital optical control system demonstrator

 

77

2-21

 

Sample time history for a rotorcraft vertical landing task

 

77

2-22

 

Schematic drawing of a helicopter tracking a vehicle-mounted hover board

 

78

2-23

 

Helicopter lateral-position tracking task, velocity profile for the lateral vehicle displacement

 

78

2-24

 

Time history of the helicopter lateral-position tracking task with no added time delay

 

79

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×

2-25

 

Time history of the helicopter lateral-position tracking task with 100 msec of added time delay

 

79

2-26

 

Small-amplitude handling qualities criterion (target acquisition and tracking) from ADS-33D

 

80

4-1

 

Design process for avoiding adverse APC events

 

92

5-1

 

A comparison of NASA and U.S. Air Force simulators for principal piloting tasks, circa 1975

 

113

5-2

 

A PIO (APC) rating scale

 

114

5-3

 

A comparison of PIO ratings showing normal and offset landing tasks by the NASA Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft (FSAA) and the U.S. Air Force Total in-Flight Simulator (TIFS)

 

114

5-4

 

A comparison of PIO ratings for formation-flying by the NASA Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft (FSAA) and the U.S. Air Force Total In-Flight Simulator (TIFS)

 

115

5-5

 

A comparison of PIO ratings for demanding landing tasks by the NASA Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) and the U.S. Air Force Total In-Flight Simulator (TIFS)

 

115

5-6

 

A feedback system involving the human pilot

 

119

5-7

 

A block diagram representation of the human pilot transfer function

 

122

5-8

 

A block diagram of an open-loop PVS

 

122

5-9

 

A block diagram of a closed-loop PVS

 

124

6-1

 

Definitions of aircraft pitch attitude bandwidth and phase delay

 

131

6-2

 

Aircraft-Bandwidth/Phase Delay/Dropback requirements for PIO resistance in terminal flight phases

 

134

6-3

 

Aircraft-Bandwidth/Phase Delay parameters as indicators of PIO susceptibility for sample operational and test aircraft

 

135

6-4

 

Bode and gain phase diagram presentations for Kc e-sτ/s

 

138

6-5

 

Gain/Phase Template, ω180/Average Phase Rate Boundaries

 

141

6-6

 

Correlation between Smith-Geddes criterion frequency and Have PIO flight data

 

146

6-7

 

Moscow Aviation Institute PIO boundaries

 

149

6-8

 

Neal-Smith trends with variation of effective delay for Kc e-sτ /s

 

150

6-9

 

Pitch rate overshoot and pitch attitude dropback

 

151

6-10

 

Tentative forbidden zones for Category II PIOs

 

158

C-1a

 

Bode and Nichols diagrams for a synchronous PVS of an aircraft with low susceptibility to oscillatory APC events

 

182

C-1b

 

Bode and Nichols diagrams for a synchronous PVS of an aircraft with high susceptibility to oscillatory APC events

 

183

C-2

 

Input amplitude-dependent stability boundaries as a function of command-path gain shaping ratio for a linear system gain margin δG M = 1.5

 

188

C-3

 

Time domain and transfer characteristics for fully developed rate limiting

 

190

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5469.
×
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Adverse aircraft-pilot coupling (APC) events include a broad set of undesirable and sometimes hazardous phenomena that originate in anomalous interactions between pilots and aircraft. As civil and military aircraft technologies advance, interactions between pilots and aircraft are becoming more complex. Recent accidents and other incidents have been attributed to adverse APC in military aircraft. In addition, APC has been implicated in some civilian incidents.

This book evaluates the current state of knowledge about adverse APC and processes that may be used to eliminate it from military and commercial aircraft. It was written for technical, government, and administrative decisionmakers and their technical and administrative support staffs; key technical managers in the aircraft manufacturing and operational industries; stability and control engineers; aircraft flight control system designers; research specialists in flight control, flying qualities, human factors; and technically knowledgeable lay readers.

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