Air Traffic Management Concept Baseline Definition - The Boeing ...

• What are the back-up procedures to take into account failure, degradation or
inappropriate outputs
• What verification procedures are used to ensure required availability of back-up
systems/procedures
• Are these back-up systems and procedures available, online and well practiced
• What is the certainty that any necessary human intervention skills are of the
appropriate level of proficiency and availability - does this change with time and
population structure - how is this tested and how frequently
There needs to be more research in the whole area of decision support tools, and how they
are subject to growing dependency and affect the maintenance of appropriate situational
awareness.
4.3.2 Intent
There are several issues surrounding the content and availability of intent information that
have an impact on the effectiveness of decision support systems and have major
implications requiring human factors consideration.
The main issues are:
• Where is the knowledge of the intentions of each aircraft and of the tactical controller
Is it in the Flight Management Computer (FMC) or other computer or is it in
someone’s head
• How accurate and reliable are these intentions
• How long are they valid
• How can these intentions be made available to the decision support system in order to
allow it to function with the best quality data available
• How can the system be kept updated or informed when disturbances occur that
demand rapid re-planning on the part of both pilots and controller
‘Intent’ is the description of how the future is most likely to unfold, and in it there is an
attempt to shape the future. Thus intent involves elements of both prediction and predetermination.
Airborne technology has developed to a state that is allowing prediction of
the future, from the individual aircraft’s point of view, to be realized with a fairly high
degree of certainty. This high level of certainty is the result of the FMC’s working to
ensure that predictions come true; the FMC ensures conformance; the future state(s) is/are
constraints that should be achieved.
Intent is not confined to the aircraft and its plan; it is also an important aspect of the
controller’s method of managing a domain of responsibility. The controller’s intent is an
extension forward in time of the dynamics of the current situation, identifying where
modifications will be necessary to maintain safety and achieve pilots’ requested profiles.
The air traffic control system functions principally through the action of the controller
combining all the individual pilot intents with his/her own intent into an overall plan,
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