Cockpit Task Management: Preliminary Definitions, Normative Theory, Error Taxonomy, and Design Recommendations

A preliminary formalization of the process that flight crews use to initiate, monitor, prioritize, execute, and terminate multiple, concurrent tasks is presented. I define key terminology and present a preliminary, normative theory of cockpit task management (CTM). An error taxonomy that is applied to three National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) aircraft accident reports is introduced. Recommendations for pilot vehicle interfaces (PVIs) intended to facilitate CTM and an example, prototype PVI that was effective in improving CTM performance are provided. In conclusion, I describe the complementary relationship between CTM and cockpit resource management (CRM).