Ian Johnson’s first inkling of a career in aviation came as a teenager after an eye-opening flight in a Douglas DC-3. After migrating to the United States from Guyana, a small country on South America’s north Atlantic coast, he took on several jobs to pay for lessons toward his private pilot certificate. He then enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, with aspirations of becoming an airline pilot.

During Ian’s second semester studying aeronautical science, he became enthralled with human factors in aviation after taking a course on the subject. He changed his plans and switched his degree program so he could dive deeper into human factors psychology.

Ian continued his education, eventually earning not only a master’s degree of aeronautical science in human factors in aviation systems but also a second master’s in aviation/aerospace safety systems. The research required for these advanced degrees aligned well with Ian’s new aeronautical career aspirations.

That research, along with his 19 years of industry experience (ranging from lead human factors engineer, technical contributor, and staff human factors engineer of the presidential helicopter program) and his piloting expertise (mostly in single-engine Cessna and Piper aircraft and multi-engine Piper aircraft) provided the perfect foundation for Ian’s current job as an engineering psychologist in the FAA’s Weather Research Branch.

Ian is also the human factors lead and general aviation subject matter expert in the FAA’s NextGen Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) program.

The purpose of the WTIC program is to ensure that weather information, in any format that is available to pilots in the cockpit, is effective. WTIC program research looks at how pilots interpret the weather information and associates that information with safety risks of encountering potentially hazardous weather conditions. For more about the program, read the article “What is WTIC?” in this publication.

Ian explains that one of the most important aspects of using weather technology during flight is being cognizant of its capabilities and limitations. An especially important point: never assume that a graphical display of “current” weather is in real time. In fact, there could be a 20 minute delay in what you are seeing due to processing and transmission lag time. There’s no way to safely “shoot the gap” between thunderstorm cells with this limitation.

Ian also notes that as a pilot you need to be aware of personal capabilities and limitations, not just those of the aircraft you are flying.

With great technology, comes great responsibility. That responsibility is up to you — the pilot in command — to truly understand the tools you are using in the cockpit to make safe decisions.

Paul Cianciolo is an associate editor and the social media lead for FAA Safety Briefing. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, and a rated aircrew member and volunteer public affairs officer with Civil Air Patrol.