Abstract
Abstract. Flight instructors are responsible for deciding when student pilots make their first solo flights. While these decisions are complex and challenging, little detailed guidance has been developed. This study aimed to articulate the elements of competence that experienced flight instructors focused on and assessed when making the decision to send student pilots on their first solo training flights. Participants were 30 Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) senior and chief flying instructors. A qualitative design was used to explore participants’ reflections on the elements of competency and behavioral markers they assess. The key themes identified from the thematic analyses fit well within the PAVE hazard checklist, which provides a framework for hazard awareness and management. The results of this study include a preliminary framework of specific competencies that flight instructors can assess as part of their decision making. Future research could lead to development of a checklist or scale that would further support flight instructors’ decision making.
References
. (2014). Aviation occurrence statistics: 2004 to 2014. Canberra, Australia: Author.
(1996). Crashes of instructional flights. Analysis of cases and remedial approaches. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a304890.pdf
(2002). Landing flare accident reports and pilot perception analysis. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 12(2), 137–152.
(2005). General aviation leveloff, roundout, and accident rate analysis. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 15(2), 189–203.
(2010). In conflict with ourselves? An investigation of heuristic and analytic processes in decision making. Memory & Cognition, 38(2), 186–196.
(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
. (2014). General aviation activity 2011 statistical report. Canberra, Australia: Author.
(1994). Flight instructors manual. Surrey, UK: The Campbell Partnership.
. (2007). Flight instructor manual aeroplane. Canberra, Australia: Author.
. (2010). Day VFR syllabus – aeroplanes Vol. CASADOC 201. Retrieved from http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/fcl/download/vfras01.pdf
(2006). The heuristic-analytic theory of reasoning: Extension and evaluation. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13(3), 378–395.
. (2008). Aviation instructor’s handbook (Vol. FAA-H-8083-9A). Washington, DC: FAA Flight Standards Service.
(1999).
Expert knowledge and processes of thinking . In R. McCormickC. PaechterEds., Learning and knowledge. London UK: Sage Publications.(1995). Eliciting knowledge from experts: A methodological analysis. Organizational Behavior And Human Decision Processes, 62(2), 129–158.
(2011). Thinking fast and slow. London, UK: Penguin Books.
. (2012). Review of U.S. civil aviation accidents, calendar year 2010. Annual review NTSB/ARA-12/01. Retrieved from http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/data/Documents/ARA1201.pdf
(1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
(2006). Performance-based evaluation of flight student landings: implications for risk management. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 16(1), 97–112.
(2001). Complementing the traditional hierarchy of aviation safety controls with a behavior-based safety system – preliminary findings from the College of Aviation at Western Michigan University. Proceedings of the International Society of Aviation Psychology, Columbus, OH.
. (2014a). Operations manual v.7. Retrieved from https://www.raa.asn.au/safety/operations-manual
. (2014b). Syllabus of flight training. Retrieved from https://www.raa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Syllabus-of-Flight-Training-Issue-7-V2_Single-pages.pdf.
(2008). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (2nd ed., pp. 53–80). Sage: London, UK.
(2009). Aircraft accidents with student pilots flying solo: Analysis of 390 cases. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 80(9), 803–806.
(2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology. Berkshire, UK: McGraw-Hill International.
