Citation

Cassens RE, Young JP, Greenan JP, Brown JM. Coll. Aviat. Rev. Int. 2011; 29(1): 10-27.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, University Aviation Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reports on a study that investigated the status of aeronautical decision making (ADM) training at a collegiate flight training school, with the goal of assessing adequacy to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines. The FAA has placed increasing emphasis on ADM instruction, as it has been shown that training in ADM can reduce the amount of errors caused by poor decision making. The authors stress the importance of flight training schools ensuring that their students are meeting and exceeding these requirements. Two surveys were used to define the ADM training environment. One survey was designed to determine the methods that professors believe should be used to teach ADM and the elements of ADM that should be included in instruction. A second survey focused on identifying methods and elements that were currently being used by flight instructors. The results of the surveys were then compared to determine if there were significant differences between what professors of aviation believed should be taught and what flight instructors were actually teaching in regards to ADM. The authors found that instructors were not consistently using the types of situations that allow students to practice decision making, nor were they consistently emphasizing the different types of elements that contribute to good decision making. The authors conclude with a set of recommendations for flight schools: analyzing the nature of ADM-related instruction at other collegiate flight training schools using similar methodology; providing additional ADM-related ground and flight instruction; determining the students' perceptions of ADM instruction in the aircraft; and adapting lesson plans to provide additional or more effective opportunities for students to practice ADM.