Effect of Crew Composition on AH-64 Attack Helicopter Mission Performance and Flight Safety.

Abstract : This report evaluates battle rostering (pairing crew members on a long-term basis) by comparing AH-64 attack helicopter crews when flying in battle-rosterized and mixed crew compositions. Participants in the experiments were AH-64 attack helicopter standardization instructor pilots and 12 battle-rostered aircrews consisting of a pilot and a copilot gunner. All participants received training in-the Army's Aircrew Coordination Exportable Training Package as a prerequisite for the experiment. Participating aviators conducted two missions in a battle-rostered crew and two missions in a mixed crew. Discussion and analysis of crew performance are presented as measures of behavior, task performance, mission performance, and participant exit interview comments. The experiment concluded that minimal evidence exists to show that battle rostering provides meaningful improvements in the mission performance or flight safety of crew coordination-trained aircrews. Battle rostering drawbacks include overconfidence and increased reliance on implicit communication and coordination. The report recommends implementing actions to improve mission effectiveness and flight safety and follow-on research to better understand and capitalize on the strengths of crew and team coordination.