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This research focused on identifying communication strategies and procedures related to efficient and error-resistant data link communication. A coding scheme was developed that identified five steps in the data link communication cycle in which information may need to be transmitted between operators. This methodology was applied to a data link full mission study with 10 flight crews as participants. Initial results indicated that the amount of information transferred may impact communication timing and efficiency. The impact of data link upon the roles and procedures of the crewmembers is discussed.

Air Traffic Control communication is an act of collaboration between pilots and controllers, and the success of this collaboration depends on how smoothly speakers and listeners work together. For example, we have found that the way controllers deliver ATC messages influences how easily pilots understand these messages, which in turn determines how much time and effort is needed to successfully complete the transaction. We first introduced a collaborative framework for investigating air ground comunication and then describe a set of field and laboratory studies that investigated ATC communication. We focused on the impact of ATC message factors (e.g., length and timing) on the cognitive processes involved in ATC communication. These studies also illustrate how the collaborative framework helps analyze the impact of proposed visual data link systems on ATC communication.

Data link technologies are being investigated for air/ground information transfer for commercial aircraft operation. This study was designed to measure which of four alpha-numeric display formats for display of data link information would lead to the quickest and most accurate memory retrieval in a part-task simulation environment. Pilots viewed a clearance for 10-15 seconds and were subsequently queried about the content of that clearance. Speed and accuracy of responses were measured across three retention tasks. The three retention tasks included free recall of a particular clearance, recognition of a previous clearance, and the comparison of element values between a previously displayed and current clearance. Each format was tested with and without a distraction task. Subjective ratings of each format were also collected. The analyses revealed no significant differences for reaction time or accuracy among the four formats.