Evaluating non-technical skills and mission essential competencies of pilots in military aviation environments

摘要

To develop and validate a classification of non-technical skills (NTS) in military aviation, a study was conducted, using data from real operations of F16 aircraft formations. Phase 1 developed a NTS classification based on the literature review (e.g. NOTECHS) and a workshop with pilots. The Non-TEChnical-MILitary-Skills (NOTEMILS) scheme was tested in Phase 2 in a series of Principal Component Analysis with data from After-Action-Review sessions (i.e. 900 records from a wide range of operations). The NTS were found to make a good prediction of Mission Essential Components (R-2 0.80) above the effect of experience. Phase 3 undertook a reliability analysis where three raters assessed the NOTEMILS scheme with good results (i.e. all r(wg) 0.80). To look into the consistency of classifications, another test indicated that, at least, two out of three raters were in agreement in over 70% of the assessed flight segments. Practitioner Summary: A classification scheme of Non-Technical Skills (NTS) was developed and tested for reliability in military aviation operations. The NTS scheme is a valuable tool for assessing individual and team skills of F-16 pilots in combat. It is noteworthy that the tool had a good capability of predicting Mission Essential Competencies.