Florida, USA – Dan George, Founder of FlightInsight, explores how traditional pilot training focuses on measurable task performance but doesn’t necessarily reveal how pilots think, prioritize, and make decisions — and how emerging training frameworks aim to address this.

• In an article published on LinkedIn, George recounts a scenario in a Boeing 787 simulator at Boeing Commercial Training Solutions in Miami, illustrating how decision‑making under pressure provides deeper insight into pilot competence than traditional performance metrics.

• Traditional standards (e.g., maintain heading within X degrees) are objective yet limited, capturing what pilots do rather than how they think.

• Competency‑Based Training and Assessment (CBTA) shifts focus to structured, observable behaviors tied to decision‑making, prioritization, communication, and problem solving.

• Rather than judging a pilot solely on task outcomes, CBTA emphasizes why choices were made, making analytic debriefs a core part of the assessment.

• The article notes that while CBTA is increasingly used in advanced training (e.g., simulators, airline recurrent training), it is not yet mandated for checkrides — but many training providers and instructors are adopting parts of it proactively.

Source: Dan George
Photo Credit: Boeing