ABSTRACT
The primary intention behind flightdeck automation has been the increase of flight safety and efficiency. The challenge for system design concerns the development of systems, which provide an appropriate level of automation for a particular situation at a given time. Omission errors arise when operators fail to take appropriate action in response to a problem, because the automated decision aids have failed to inform them of an imminent system failure. Both omission and commission errors emanate from the presence of automation, which is biasing decision making processes by providing a replacement for vigilant information seeking and processing. The civil avionics environment comprises a unique setting for decision making it is complex, dynamic, subject to distractions, time pressure and at times, information overload. An important aspect of decision making, and one which often leads to error, is the use of heuristics, that is, short-cuts.
