How a cockpit forgets speeds (and speed-related events): toward a kinetic description of joint cognitive systems

Abstract

Two seminal papers investigating the cognition involved in navigating modern, multi-crew aircraft developed a joint cognitive system approach while focusing on how a cockpit calculates and remembers speed (Henriqson et al. in Cogn Technol Work 13:217-231, 2011; Hutchins in Cogn Sci 19(3):265-288, 1995b). Although the joint cognitive systems approach constituted an advance over more traditional approaches focusing on individual pilot performances, both fall short of describing the cockpit joint cognitive system. Based on extensive ethnographic dataincluding recorded modified think-aloud protocols, debriefing sessions following (recorded) simulator biannual simulator assessments, and simulator performances followed by stimulated recall using simulator recordings-we show that a considerable amount of flying involves bodily and embodied knowledge sequentially and temporally organized in flows (kinetic melodies). These become apparent when pilots are asked to fly multiple aircraft (mixed-fleet flying), where the flow patterns from one cockpit are triggered in a physically and cognitively different cockpit. Focusing on embodied flows (kinetic melodies) allows us to highlight how cockpits forget speeds and how they fail to calculate the required speeds and speed-related events.

From briefing, through scenario, to debriefing: the maritime instructor’s work during simulator-based training

“…Theureau 2000), aviation (e.g. Roth et al 2015) and health care (e.g. Manser and Wehner 2002) in a risk-free manner.…”

How the cockpit manages anomalies: revisiting the dynamic fault management model for aviation

“…The unit of analysis (construct 2) in this case was the joint cognitive system involving the cockpit and its functional and structural boundaries (Hutchins 1995;Hutchins and Klausen 1996;Henriqson et al 2011;Roth et al 2014;Soo et al 2016). These boundaries encompass everything that helps pilots to cope with the fault and is located both inside the physical cockpit, including the procedures, warning systems and controller, and outside, such as the cabin crew and passengers, air traffic control and the company's support centre (Carim Jr et al 2016).…”

“…The revisited model contributes to the cognitive systems engineering (CSE) literature, more specifically to a series of studies started by Hutchins (1995) and Hutchins and Klausen (1996) and followed by Henriqson et al (2011), and Roth at al. (2014) under titles that begin 'How a cockpit…'.…”

Cultural Practices and Cognition in Debriefing

“…The conceptualization of the differences, however, focused on the two forms as propositional memory, whereas this study shows that the movement and event sequences are not propositional but associated with bodily knowing. The movements observed are not symbolic re presentations but are the same movements that get the work done and orient in the work environment generally and in the aircraft cockpit specifically (Roth et al, 2014b).…”

“…Thus, an analyst familiar with the aircraft can easily identify what someone is talking about even when the soundtrack is turned off because the movements are not merely generic but reflect the physical layout of the cockpit. There are characteristic hand movements and word exchange sequences that make recognizable overall flows or bodily kinetic melodies (Roth et al, 2014b). These flow sequences are not encoded in terms of their parts but unfold on their own once triggered.…”