McMahon Terry W, Newman David G
Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018 Jun 1;89(6):496-502. doi: 10.3357/AMHP.4895.2018.
Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill requiring constant control inputs from pilots. A deterioration in psychomotor performance of a helicopter pilot may be detrimental to operational safety. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that psychomotor performance deteriorates over time during sustained operations and that the effect is more pronounced in the feet than the hands. The subjects were helicopter pilots conducting sustained multicrew offshore flight operations in a demanding environment. The remote flight operations involved constant workload in hot environmental conditions with complex operational tasking.
Over a period of 6 d 10 helicopter pilots were tested. At the completion of daily flying duties, a helicopter-specific screen-based compensatory tracking task measuring tracking accuracy (over a 5-min period) tested both hands and feet. Data were compared over time and tested for statistical significance for both deterioration and differential effect.
A statistically significant deterioration of psychomotor performance was evident in the pilots over time for both hands and feet. There was also a statistically significant differential effect between the hands and the feet in terms of tracking accuracy. The hands recorded a 22.6% decrease in tracking accuracy, while the feet recorded a 39.9% decrease in tracking accuracy.
The differential effect may be due to prioritization of limb movement by the motor cortex due to factors such as workload-induced cognitive fatigue. This may result in a greater reduction in performance in the feet than the hands, posing a significant risk to operational safety.McMahon TW, Newman DG. The differential effect of sustained operations on psychomotor skills of helicopter pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(6):496-502.
驾驶直升机是一项复杂的心理运动技能，需要飞行员持续进行控制输入。直升机飞行员心理运动表现的下降可能对操作安全有害。本研究的目的是检验以下假设：在持续操作过程中，心理运动表现会随时间下降，且这种影响在脚部比手部更明显。研究对象是在苛刻环境中进行持续多机组海上飞行操作的直升机飞行员。远程飞行操作涉及在炎热环境条件下持续的工作量以及复杂的操作任务。
在6天的时间里对10名直升机飞行员进行了测试。在每日飞行任务结束时，通过一项基于屏幕的特定于直升机的补偿跟踪任务（在5分钟内测量跟踪精度）对双手和双脚进行测试。对不同时间的数据进行比较，并对下降情况和差异效应进行统计学显著性检验。
随着时间的推移，飞行员的心理运动表现出现了统计学上显著的下降，双手和双脚均如此。在跟踪精度方面，双手和双脚之间也存在统计学上显著的差异效应。双手的跟踪精度下降了22.6%，而双脚的跟踪精度下降了39.9%。
这种差异效应可能是由于诸如工作量引起的认知疲劳等因素导致运动皮层对肢体运动进行了优先级排序。这可能导致脚部的表现下降幅度大于手部，对操作安全构成重大风险。
麦克马洪TW，纽曼DG。持续操作对直升机飞行员心理运动技能的差异效应。航空航天医学与人类表现。2018；89(6):496 - 502。
