Report on the accident to Grob 115E Tutor , G-BYUT and the Grob 115E Tutor, G-BYVN near Porthcawl, South Wales

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/6-2010%20G-BYUT%20G-BYVN.pdf


Aircraft Accident Report 6/2010
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
Department for Transport

Report on the accident to Grob 115E Tutor, G-Byut and Grob 115E Tutor, G-BYVN near Porthcawl, South Wales on 11 February 2009

The two aircraft collided at about 3,000 ft agl, whilst conducting air experience flights for two teenage cadets who were members of the Air Training Corps.
The aircraft were being flown by Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots and each carried an air cadet as a passenger. The pilots were staff members of the RAF's Number 1 Air Experience Flight (AEF), based at St Athan Airfield near Cardiff.  Number 1 AEF, along with other AEFs throughout the United Kingdom, exists to provide air experience flying for members of the Air Training Corps and the RAF wing of the Combined Cadet Force.  Number 1 AEF was co-located with, and formed part of the University of Wales Air Squadron (UWAS)

Breaking the Mishap Chain

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/643903main_BreakMishapChain-ebook.pdf

"Breaking the Mishap Chain:
Human Factors Lessons Learned from Aerospace Accidents and Incidents in Research, Flight Test, and Development"
NASA By Peter W. Merlin, Gregg A. Bendrick, and Dwight A. Holland



This volume contains a collection of case studies of mishaps involving experimental aircraft, aerospace vehicles, and spacecraft in which human factors played a significant role. In all cases the engineers involved, the leaders and managers, and the operators (i.e., pilots and astronauts) were supremely qualified and by all accounts superior performers. Such accidents and incidents rarely resulted from a single cause but were the outcome of a chain of events in which altering at least one element might have prevented disaster. As such, this work is most certainly not an anthology of blame. It is offered as a learning tool so that future organizations, programs, and projects may not be destined to repeat the mistakes of the past. These lessons were learned at high material and personal costs and should not be lost to the pages of history.

Hearing Protection - Needs, Technologies and Performance

Hearing Protection Needs, Technologies and Performance
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA539790&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf


Noise and the associated hearing loss and degradation of communication capability have been a common and significant problem in the military among the NATO member nations. Noise related issues have continued to grow in consequence and costs. This report details the requirements of the member nations for noise exposure and the associated hearing protection needs. A presentation of the wide range of military continuous and impulse noise environments and methods for their measurement is also presented. The combination of noise exposure criteria, noise levels, and exposure times can be used to calculate noise dose and determine the amount of noise attenuation required. Each type of currently available and emerging hearing protection technology including active and passive earmuffs and earplugs, level dependent earmuffs and earplugs, and communication earplugs, headsets, and helmets along with their attenuation performance is presented in the report. Additionally, new technology areas including techniques to reduce bone conducted noise and tactical hearing protectors for ground soldiers are presented, and the issue of laboratory versus field attenuation of hearing protectors and standardized methods for measurement of attenuation are addressed. Finally, guidance is given on hearing protection selection factors and criteria along with a summary and recommendations for future work.





EAR PROTECTORS, COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT, ACOUSTIC ATTENUATION, EXPOSURE(PHYSIOLOGY), NOISE(SOUND), REQUIREMENTS, IMPULSE NOISE

An Analysis of U.S. Army Health Hazard Assessments During the Acquisition of Military Materiel

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539265.pdf


An Analysis of U.S. Army Health Hazard Assessments During the Acquisition of Military Materiel


Master's thesis


Verlo, April R.
03 JUN 2010


Musculoskeletal-related occupational illnesses and injuries comprise a large majority of military outpatient encounters and result in decreased combat readiness and degraded Soldier performance. The U.S. Army Health Hazard Assessment Program works to reduce health-related adverse consequences from new technology and equipment by identifying and evaluating health hazards during the acquisition of military materiel. This study evaluated the program's Hazard Inventory database using descriptive statistics in order to determine trends in hazard assessments, database accuracy, and consistency of health hazard communication to materiel developers. It determined that ergonomic-related health hazards are not the most common health hazard type evaluated.



HEALTH, *MILITARY PROCUREMENT, *HAZARDS, MATERIEL, NOISE, ARMY PERSONNEL, PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS, TEST AND EVALUATION, THESES, HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING, RADIATION, DATA BASES, ACCURACY

Measurements of Attenuation and Talk-through Amplification

Measurements of Attenuation and Talk-through Amplification for Two Communications Headset Candidates for the Helmet Electronics and Display System-Upgradeable Protection (HEaDS-UP) Army Technology Objective (ATO)

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA553487&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf


ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD
ARL TR 5841

Dec 2011



Two tactical communication and protection systems (TCAPS) prototypes were developed for the Helmet Electronics and Display System-Upgradeable Protection (HEaDS-UP) Army Technology Objective (ATO). Attenuation measurements were made for the candidate systems in each of three configurations: in-the-ear (ITE), circumaural, and both (double). Features in the data obtained with the KEMAR auditory test fixture led to additional measurement using a G.R.A.S. hearing protector test fixture type 45CA, but neither set of measurements showed significant differences between the two candidates; in the second set of measurements, two Combat Vehicle Crewmember (CVC) headset variants were included for comparison purposes. The ITE configuration of the candidate systems compared well with that of the CVC in terms of attenuation and reliability. Measurements were also made of the noise levels transmitted by the talk-through microphones. The levels of sound measured for steady-state noise were well above 85 dB A-wtd, suggesting that the trigger mechanism for transmission shut-off is not triggered by steady-state noise and that users need to be trained to shut off the talk-through when exposed to vehicle and other steady-state noise for longer periods of time.








Descriptors : *DISPLAY SYSTEMS, *EAR PROTECTORS, *HEAD UP DISPLAYS, ARMY, ATTENUATION, COMBAT VEHICLES, COMMUNICATION AND RADIO SYSTEMS, COMPARISON, CONFIGURATIONS, CREWS, ELECTRONICS, HEARING, HELMETS, MEASUREMENT, NOISE, PROTECTION, PROTOTYPES, STEADY STATE, TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS, TRAINING, TRANSMITTANCE, TRIGGER CIRCUITS
















http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA553487&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

http://www2.icao.int/en/FatigueManagement/Pages/Home.aspx

Fatigue Management Home Page

This is the home page of ICAO Fatigue Management.  ICAO intend to add documents to this page

Implicit Learning of Complex Visual Contexts Under Non-Optimal Conditions

http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA482416&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

The human cognitive system is stunningly powerful in some respects yet surprisingly limited in others. We can recognize an object or a face in a single glimpse and type 70 words per minute, yet we cannot hold more than a few objects at a time in visual working memory or split our attention to several locations. Attention and working memory impose major capacity limitations in cognitive processing. This ARO funded project examines the role of implicit learning in overcoming cognitive limitations. It hinges on the observation that humans process a visual display more quickly when it is encountered for a second time. The project addresses three fundamental properties about spatial learning. First, does learning have a capacity limit? Second, is learning reduced when attention is tied up by a secondary load? Third, how much does the learning ability vary across individuals, and what are the cognitive and brain mechanisms that separate good learners from poor learners? We found that spatial context learning is automatic, flexible, has high capacity, and applies to most individuals. This mechanism can potentially overcome cognitive limitations in human attention and working memory, and may assist soldiers in spatial navigation.

Visual scan adaptation during repeated visual search

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA523996&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
Visual scan adaptation during repeated visual search

Christopher W. Myers
Wayne D. Gray

There is no consensus as to how to characterize eye fixations during visual search. On the one hand, J. M. Wolfe, G. A. Alvarez, and T. S. Horowitz (2000) have described them as a haphazard sequence of fixations. On the other hand is research that shows systematic repetition of visual patterns when freely viewing a scene (T. Foulsham & G. Underwood, 2008; D. Noton & L. W. Stark, 1971a). Two experiments are reported that demonstrate the repetition and adaptation of
visual scans during visual search, supporting an adaptive scanning hypothesis. When trials were repeated in a simple search task, visual scan similarity and search efficiency increased. These increments in similarity and efficiency demonstrate the systematic and adaptive nature of visual scans to the characteristics of the visual environment during search.

Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) : impementation guide for operators

Fatigue Risk Management System


The purpsoe of this FRMS Implementation Guide is to provide air operators with information for implementing an FRMS that is consistent with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS).

An FRMS aims to ensure that flight and cabin crew members are sufficiently alert so they can operate to a satisfactory level of performance.  It applies principles and processes from Safety Management Systems (SMS) to manage the specific risks associated with crewmember fatigue.