Hours of Operation
- Monday - Friday: 8AM - 5PM
- Saturday: 9AM - 2PM
- Sunday: Closed
A. Continue the mission, hoping the link recovers. B. Immediately initiate return-to-home (RTH). C. Climb to higher altitude to improve line of sight. D. Wait 30 seconds, then command RTH if no recovery.
Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) present candidates with realistic, work-related scenarios and ask them to rate or choose among possible actions. SJTs predict job performance in many high-stakes professions (medicine, air traffic control) by assessing procedural knowledge and tacit decision-making rules (Lievens & Sackett, 2012). However, no validated SJT currently exists for UAS operators.
The final 25-item SIT-UAS demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.84) and inter-rater agreement for scoring (Fleiss’ κ = 0.76). SIT-UAS scores correlated significantly with instructor-rated non-technical competence (r = 0.61, p < .001) and predicted simulator mission success (OR = 3.4 per SD increase).
Development and Validation of a Situational Judgement Test (SIT-UAS) for Unmanned Aircraft System Operators: Predicting Non-Technical Skills in Remote Piloting
A three-phase mixed-methods approach: (1) Critical incident interviews with 20 expert UAS operators to generate realistic scenarios; (2) Expert panel (n=10) to establish correct/incorrect response keys; (3) Validation with 150 UAS trainees, comparing SIT-UAS scores against instructor ratings and simulator performance.
Situational Judgement Test, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, non-technical skills, pilot selection, human factors. 1. Introduction The proliferation of UAS (drones) across civil, commercial, and military domains has increased demand for effective operator selection and training (ICAO, 2022). While technical proficiency in flight control is measurable, critical incidents often involve failures of judgement—e.g., prioritizing a visual fix over battery state, or misinterpreting controller handoffs.
(Your Name), Academic Affiliation Journal: Human Factors in Aviation or International Journal of Aerospace Psychology Abstract Objective: To design and empirically validate a Situational Judgement Test (SIT) tailored for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators (SIT-UAS), assessing non-technical skills such as decision-making, situational awareness, and risk management.