China Safety Science Journal ›› 2026, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (7): 241-250.doi: 10.16265/j.cnki.issn1003-3033.2026.07.0446

• Occupational Health • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A prediction model for reaction time growth due to psychological fatigue responses in civil aviation flight dispatchers

Wang Yantao1(), Hu Yuhan2, Shi Tongyu2,**()   

  1. 1 Institute of Science and Technology Innovation, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin 300300, China
    2 College of Air Traffic Management, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin 300300, China
  • Received:2026-03-11 Revised:2026-05-17 Online:2026-07-28 Published:2027-01-28
  • Contact: Shi Tongyu

Abstract:

To accurately measure and predict the effect of mental fatigue on reaction time in civil aviation flight dispatchers, 97 airline flight dispatchers were selected as subjects. Indicators capable of effectively reflecting mental fatigue were screened, a psychological-fatigue reaction time testing system was designed and developed, and four batches of task-based tests were conducted. Then, based on TPMA for flight dispatchers, a reaction time growth prediction model for dispatcher mental fatigue was established using the test data. Finally, the effectiveness of the model was validated with measured results and further supported by electroencephalography (EEG) signal data. The results show that the mean absolute percentage errors of the predicted reaction time growth are 2% for sustained attention, 3% for subtle attention, and 3% for visual fatigue. In the drowsy state, the average correlation coefficient between predicted reaction time and EEG signal data is 84%. When working time is ≥ 7 h, the average reaction time and number of errors increase by 14% and 35%, respectively; when flight volume is ≥ 80 flights, they increase by 15% and 30%, respectively; and when the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) score is ≥ 7, they increase by 12% and 39%, respectively.

Key words: flight dispatcher, mental fatigue, reaction time, three-process model of alertness(TPMA), fatigue growth prediction, Bayesian network(BN)

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