Empirical evaluation of a model of team collaboration using selected transcripts from September 11, 2001

Abstract

The extraordinary events that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001, left Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers in New York, Boston, Washington, and Cleveland and their colleagues at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), without precedent as to how to respond to the hijacking of four American commercial airliners. Despite the chaos and confusion, the two agencies put forth a joint effort in order to decide when and how to scramble fighter aircraft to escort the airliners. The collaboration that occurred between the agencies was recorded in radio transcripts between NORAD and FAA air traffic controllers. The goal of this thesis is to utilize the September 11, 2001, NORAD/FAA channel three transcripts to offer a realworld example of how a team works together on a one-of-a-kind problem. Further, transcript of recorded audio were coded and analyzed in an effort to empirically validate the Office of Naval Research model of team collaboration. The model focuses on individual and team cognitive processes used during team or agency collaboration with the goal of understanding how individuals and teams work together in order to reach a decision.