Predator kill-machine pilots suffering ‘chronic burnout’ | The Register :
According to the report’s authors, a group of US officers, “crewmembers in a MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system (UAS) squadron had significantly increased fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and burnout relative to traditional aircrew”. The study allowed for the present very high level of demand for Predator flights by comparing the drone operators against similarly hard-worked aircrews aboard AWACS airborne radar planes.
This was counterintuitive to me. Being in a loud, vibrating airplane where your physical safety is constantly threatened, because even regular airplanes aren’t 100% safe, sounds pretty stressful to me.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a cognitive load problem, in addition to the other issues of diminished self worth issues. Trying to get a sense of yourself in space and concentrate when all you have to look at are little, fuzzy screens with the resolution of current cameras would be difficult, and quite different than what these pilots are used to.
Post a Comment