General Aviation Preflight Weather Briefing: Human-in-the-Loop Simulation Study

This study examined the effects of preflight weather briefing strategies [i.e., Flight Service Station (FSS) briefing, self-briefing, both, or neither] on general aviation pilots’ understanding of forecast conditions during two scenario-based simulations: fog and icing. Effects were found for briefing type on pilots’ interview scores and mental model accuracy. FSS and self-briefing independently improved comprehension, with FSS alone sometimes outperforming both the self-brief and combined conditions. Behavioral data indicated that pilots accessing weather products during self-briefing did not match the expert-identified key products. Mental model measures revealed partial sensitivity. Interview scores in the icing scenario showed significant declines when self-briefing preceded FSS briefings, suggesting cognitive overload. Findings highlight the need for refinement of preflight tools to align pilot behaviors with expert protocols.