Alarm Related Incidents in Aviation: A Survey of the Aviation Safety Reporting System Database

Abstract

Today's aircraft cockpits are complex environments requiring pilots to monitor a large number of automated displays and alarm systems. A recent investigation of alarm-related incidents in Naval aircraft found high rates of alarm-related problems, particularly false and missed alarms. For the current research, we analyzed a sample of narrative accounts taken from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). We categorized and tabulated the data according to alarm problem (false, missed, or other), aircraft type, avionics (alarm system), and flight phase. Our findings indicated that alarm-related incidents are still quite common in civil aircraft. Furthermore, most alarm-related incidents occur during the approach phase of a flight, and are likely to involve the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) or the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). We recommend further empirical research to understand alarm-related problems, particularly the cry-wolf effect.