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The pilot is in charge of the aircraft. Flight deck equipment is intended to assist him in carrying out his responsibilities with safety. The pilot has the final authority over a broad array of equipment including many automated functions. The paper discusses the benefits and cost of automation. A method is proposed whereupon the pilot is viewed as the foundation of a hierarchy of increasingly automated systems. The hierarchy approach provides both the aircrew and the design engineer with a useful metaphor which encompasses automation in present day aircraft and future aircraft. The paper suggests that, in the future, automation and upcoming technologies be thought of as tools for adopting the machine to compliment human performance in routine as well as emergency conditions.

Three factors play a significant role in enabling human error: operating procedures, human performance, and equipment capabilities. Through a series of case histories, the intricate nature of the relationship between these three factors is explored along with the resulting potential for human error. The need to establish expected operating procedures and functions within the bounds of intended operator capability before proceeding with equipment design is explained. It is concluded that more open technical exchange between all parties is required, if further reduction in error potential and improvements in error tolerance are to be achieved.

The new color display Aerospace Recommended Practice. ARP 4032, now undergoing final approval by SAE represents a significant improvement in the documentation of useful human engineering data. Working with operationally defined requirements for effective color displays, a subcommittee of the SAE G-10 (Aerospace Behavioral Engineering Technology) committee has developed an ARP which translates the operational objectives outlined by the pilot community into specific functional requirements and test procedures which can be used by engineers to assure that color CRT displays will perform properly under all operational conditions. This work was accomplished by pooling the knowledge and experience of key individuals involved in display applications design, equipment manufacture, human performance assessment and operational use. The ARP marks a significant advancement in the means of dealing objectively with what has been a highly subjective facet of design and operation.