Pilot Performance on Original and Modified Attitude Indicators with and without Acute Stress

INTRODUCTION: Spatial disorientation and stress pose significant threats to flight safety. The attitude indicator (AI) is crucial for pilots to maintain spatial orientation. This study aims to investigate pilot performance with the original and a modified AI under stress and nonstress conditions.

METHODS: There were 52 pilots recruited and divided into a control group and a stress group. The stress group underwent the Trier Social Stress Test to induce acute stress, while the control group performed a nonstress task. Both groups then completed flight attitude recovery tasks using the original and a modified AI. The modified AI featured two white bars added around the original AI to enhance the display of the aircraft’s attitude.

RESULTS: The stress group exhibited significantly higher heart rates (88.01 ± 14.03 bpm) and subjective anxiety scores (35.82 ± 9.41) compared to the control group (83.22 ± 6.57 bpm; 32.26 ± 5.81). In the control group, accuracy with the modified AI (94.9% ± 5.1%) was significantly higher than with the original AI (91.8% ± 6.6%). Additionally, the modified AI reduced pitch reversal errors and roll reversal errors. In the stress group, the modified AI increased accuracy for smaller initial pitch and bank angles and reduced roll reversal errors.

DISCUSSION: The addition of visual cues in the periphery of the AI improved performance under nonstressed conditions. Under stress, the visual cues enhanced accuracy for smaller pitch and bank angles and reduced roll reversal errors. These findings provide insights for the ergonomic design of cockpit instruments.

Jiang H, Liu X, Peng X, Zhu Q, Wang Q, Yang J. Pilot performance on original and modified attitude indicators with and without acute stress. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2025; 96(4):296–303.