In the general aviation community, the accident lethality rate for weather-related accidents has been steady at 60-80% over the last 20 years, seemingly unaffected by technological advances such as Internet access and real-time data-linked weather information.
Project Details
In 2009, we began a multi-year research project funded by the FAA research to examine GA pilot education and training issues associated with using real-time weather information in the cockpit. Alongside teams from the University of North Dakota and University of Alaska-Anchorage, our Embry-Riddle team included faculty from the Human Factors and Systems and Doctoral Studies departments. The study produced several important recommendations to the FAA such as the upgrade of weather questions on general knowledge exams, revisions to outdated Advisory Circulars on aviation weather hazards, and deployment of an education and training module on proper use of real-time, data-linked NEXRAD data for avoiding convective weather.