IMPROVING PILOTS’ RISK MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOUR THROUGH ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT DURING TRAINING

摘要

The management of risk remains one of the most significant skills that pilots are expected to engage during aircraft operations. However, it is a skill that is seldom taught explicitly during aviation training. The present study sought to examine whether active involvement, and/or the provision of feedback during training, impacted behaviour during a simulated flight. Forty pilots were divided into groups so that some pilots flew the training flight in pairs, while others flew the flight as a single-pilot operation. Following training, half the participants received feedback concerning their performance. During a test flight, one week later, those participants who were actively involved in the flight displayed more risk averse behaviour in comparison to those participants who were simply co-pilots. Furthermore, the provision of feedback during training only appeared beneficial when pilots were able to recall similarities between the test flight and other flights that they had experienced.