Embry-Riddle Tests New Nontechnical Pilot Training Framework with US Airlines

Florida, USA – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has published research led by Presidential Fellow Dr. Barbara Holder proposing an action-oriented framework for training and assessing pilots’ nontechnical performance, based on data collected across five major airlines. The framework is relevant to airline training strategy because it has been applied to active Line-Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) simulator lessons and is designed to make nontechnical behaviours more explicit for instructor training and assessment.

• The published study involved 32 pilots across four major U.S. airlines and one major European airline, including captains and first officers operating Boeing 737, 767, 777 and 787 and Airbus A320, A330 and A350 aircraft. Researchers also interviewed check pilots, instructors and training and standards managers, observed LOFT sessions and analysed airline training materials.
• The research identified difficulties in consistently defining, training and assessing nontechnical performance. Participating airlines reported issues including subjective assessment, differences in observable behaviours, instructor calibration and the workload placed on instructors who must simultaneously operate simulators, follow scenarios, teach, coach and assess crews.
• Holder and co-author Christopher Reed developed six action areas: communicate; lead and participate; plan; manage time and tasks; assure; and manage flight path. Each is supported by specific strategies intended to translate broader concepts associated with Crew Resource Management (CRM), Threat and Error Management (TEM) and competency-based training into actions that instructors can observe and assess.
• Embry-Riddle said subsequent validation was conducted at two major U.S. airlines and one regional airline. The framework was applied to two airlines’ existing LOFT simulator lessons, where participating pilots used the actions and strategies during scenarios and instructors were able to identify and assess them consistently.
• The research was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration Human Factors Division in support of the FAA Aviation Safety organisation. The published paper states that further validation and a live trial with partner airlines are planned.
• The paper argues that existing NOTECHS, CRM, TEM and CBTA frameworks provide descriptions of nontechnical performance but can leave ambiguity around the specific actions pilots should perform, creating challenges for standardised training and assessment.

Statements

• “We are changing the pilot training paradigm, based on new knowledge,” said Barbara Holder, Presidential Fellow and Associate Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• “She's taken something long considered vague or unteachable and is turning it into a clear, practical framework instructors and pilots can actually use,” said Alan Stolzer, Dean of Embry-Riddle’s College of Aviation.

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is an aviation and aerospace-focused university with residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, alongside Worldwide and Asia operations. Its aviation activities include collegiate flight training, advanced simulation, aviation research and undergraduate through doctoral-level programmes. The university reports operating 174 Cessna 172 aircraft across its two U.S. flight-training campuses, comprising 96 at Daytona Beach and 78 at Prescott. Its training fleet also includes Diamond DA42 aircraft, while its simulation infrastructure spans more than 260 devices across both campuses.

Source: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University