FEAST Vigilance and Conflict Recognition 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A radar display shows 10 aircraft tracks. Nine are maintaining their cleared altitudes. One aircraft is 200 ft above its cleared altitude and trending upward. The controller who spots this first demonstrates:
- High vigilance — detecting a small deviation against a background of normal tracks (Correct answer)
- Good spatial reasoning — calculating the drift from assigned altitude
- Fast processing speed — quickly scanning all 10 tracks
- Strong working memory — remembering all 10 cleared altitudes simultaneously
Correct answer: High vigilance — detecting a small deviation against a background of normal tracks
Detecting a small anomaly (200 ft deviation) among normal tracks requires sustained attention and vigilance — the ability to detect rare change against a stable background.
Vigilance is the ability to sustain attention over time and detect infrequent target signals against a background of non-targets. Finding one aircraft 200 ft above its cleared level among 9 normal tracks is a classic vigilance signal-detection task. Processing speed (quickly scanning) helps but is not the core skill — the challenge is sustaining detection sensitivity while the background is mostly normal. FEAST vigilance subtests specifically measure the ability to detect rare deviations in complex displays.
Question 2: Two aircraft are on parallel headings, same altitude, separated by 4 NM. ICAO minimum radar separation is 5 NM. The controller should:
- Issue an immediate instruction to increase separation to at least 5 NM (Correct answer)
- Wait for STCA to activate before taking action
- Accept 4 NM as the aircraft are parallel and not converging
- Monitor the situation — parallel aircraft will naturally diverge
Correct answer: Issue an immediate instruction to increase separation to at least 5 NM
4 NM is already below the 5 NM minimum radar separation. Regardless of whether the tracks are parallel, the current separation infringement requires immediate corrective action.
Radar separation standards apply at all times, not only when aircraft are converging. If two aircraft are 4 NM apart at the same altitude, separation is already infringed even if they are flying parallel tracks and will not get closer. The controller must immediately issue instructions to achieve the minimum 5 NM separation. Waiting for STCA is not appropriate — the controller should be proactively monitoring separation before automated alerts activate. FEAST vigilance tasks include identifying current infringements, not just projected future conflicts.
Question 3: During a 20-minute radar monitoring simulation, a candidate has a hit rate (correctly identifying deviations) that decreases from 100% in the first 5 minutes to 75% in the last 5 minutes. This change is most consistent with:
- Vigilance decrement — the well-documented decline in detection performance during sustained monitoring (Correct answer)
- Fatigue from the physical demands of sitting at the workstation
- Increased task difficulty as more aircraft are added during the simulation
- Learning effects — the candidate becomes overconfident and stops checking carefully
Correct answer: Vigilance decrement — the well-documented decline in detection performance during sustained monitoring
A decreasing detection hit rate over sustained monitoring is the defining characteristic of vigilance decrement — a fundamental cognitive phenomenon in watchkeeping tasks.
The vigilance decrement is one of the most replicated findings in applied cognitive psychology. It describes a reliable decrease in signal detection performance (reduced hit rate, slower reaction times) during sustained vigilance tasks — typically becoming significant after 20–30 minutes. It occurs in the absence of additional task difficulty increases and reflects resource depletion and reduced arousal. FEAST tests assess both the candidate's initial detection level and the rate of decrement over the monitoring period — both predict ATC suitability.
Question 4: An aircraft is squawking 7700 (general emergency) but has not made any radio contact. The controller's correct first action is to:
- Attempt to establish communication on the guard frequency 121.5 MHz and on the assigned frequency (Correct answer)
- Treat the squawk as a transponder malfunction and take no immediate action
- Immediately alert emergency services and divert all other traffic in the area
- Wait for the pilot to initiate contact before responding to the emergency squawk
Correct answer: Attempt to establish communication on the guard frequency 121.5 MHz and on the assigned frequency
A 7700 squawk requires immediate communication attempts on all available frequencies — the pilot may be unable to transmit but might be able to receive.
Squawk 7700 indicates a declared general emergency. The absence of radio contact may mean the pilot can squawk but not transmit, or the radio has failed. The controller must: (1) attempt contact on the assigned frequency, (2) try guard (121.5 MHz), (3) coordinate with adjacent sectors in case the aircraft is on their frequency, (4) alert emergency services, and (5) protect the airspace around the aircraft. Assuming transponder malfunction is dangerous — all emergency squawks must be treated as genuine until confirmed otherwise.
Question 5: A conflict recognition task shows 8 aircraft. Two of them will reach minimum separation in 4 minutes but are not yet in conflict. A candidate who takes no action for 3 minutes before acting is demonstrating:
- Late conflict recognition — the situation should have been acted on as soon as the converging trend was identified (Correct answer)
- Appropriate delayed response — action at 1 minute before conflict is standard ATC procedure
- Correct behaviour — waiting confirms the conflict is real before issuing instructions
- Efficient prioritisation — handling other tasks first before the urgent conflict develops
Correct answer: Late conflict recognition — the situation should have been acted on as soon as the converging trend was identified
Waiting 3 of 4 available minutes before acting on an identified converging trend is dangerously late — early action ensures effective resolution with maximum safety margins.
ATC best practice requires controllers to resolve predicted conflicts early — ideally when 3–5 minutes of lead time remain, providing safe margins for instruction compliance and position confirmation. Waiting until 1 minute before minimum separation leaves insufficient time for instruction transmission, pilot acknowledgement, and manoeuvre execution. This late-action pattern suggests either poor early conflict detection or poor threat prioritisation. FEAST vigilance tests specifically measure the time from conflict identification to action to assess whether candidates act within safe intervention windows.
Question 6: A controller is working a quiet night sector with very little traffic. After 45 minutes of minimal activity, a conflict begins to develop. Compared to a controller working a busy sector, this controller is at greater risk of:
- Slow conflict detection due to under-stimulation and low arousal — quiet periods reduce vigilance (Correct answer)
- Fast conflict detection — they have had time to rest and are fresher
- Better conflict resolution — quiet periods allow more careful planning
- No difference — vigilance is unaffected by prior workload level
Correct answer: Slow conflict detection due to under-stimulation and low arousal — quiet periods reduce vigilance
Low traffic periods reduce arousal and cognitive engagement, increasing the risk of vigilance decrement and slow signal detection when a conflict does emerge.
Vigilance performance is related to arousal level according to the Yerkes-Dodson curve — both very high and very low arousal degrade performance. In quiet sectors, the lack of stimulation reduces arousal and cognitive engagement, making the controller less alert to rare events like emerging conflicts. This is sometimes called the 'out-of-the-loop' effect: controllers monitoring quiet systems become complacent and react more slowly when rare critical events occur. FEAST tests for this vulnerability through mixed high/low-activity monitoring scenarios.
FEAST Vigilance and Conflict Recognition 2
A radar display shows 10 aircraft tracks.
Nine are maintaining their cleared altitudes.
One aircraft is 200 ft above its cleared altitude and trending upward.
The controller who spots this first demonstrates: