Development of Metacognitive Control Training for Weather-Related Pilot Decision Making

This paper presents the development of a metacognitive control training protocol for pilots’ weather-related decision making, with emphasis on mitigating inadvertent flight from visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions. Grounded in the Contextual Control Model, the training defines control modes as decision-making patterns (i.e., Strategic , Tactical , Opportunistic , Scrambled ), and trains pilots to regulate control mode according to perceived cognitive resources (i.e., available time, goal manageability), rather than relying only on decision mnemonics. The training separates weather knowledge from cognitive control and teaches a repeated loop of monitoring, selecting, acting, and re-evaluating. Trainees subjectively rate available time, manageable goals, and four decision-process elements using behaviorally anchored scales. They then identify a feasible target control mode based on perceived cognitive resources. The training includes concept instruction, calibration vignettes, and scenario-based pause-and-write practice. The training turns cognitive control theory into a practical metacognitive control process for aligning decision strategy with changing cognitive demands.