Safety and Human Factors Researcher Publishes Research Highlighting Training Background Influence on Safety Perception

Global - Captain Wesley Chan has published research conducted by Wen-Chin Li, Graham Braithwaite and himself comparing how pilots with different training backgrounds perceive and categorise accident causes under the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). The study has practical implications for airlines looking to integrate pilots from various pathways into a unified safety culture.

• The study examined pilots from three training backgrounds: airline-sponsored cadet pilots, self-funded trainees, and ex-military aviators.

• 121 pilots were asked to classify identical accident causal factors using the HFACS framework.

• The research highlights the importance of culturally adaptive safety management systems (SMS) and may encourage refinements in how airlines assess and train mixed-background crews.

"We found differences between airline-sponsored, self-funded, and ex-military airline pilots on safety perceptions. Closer alignment between personal and organisational safety cultures (typical of ab-initio cadets) were associated with more precise attribution of unsafe preconditions, and less direct attributions to organisational or supervisory conditions." stated Captain Wesley Chan.

You can check out the finding of the research here and connect with Captain Chan through his LinkedIn.

Source: Wesley Chan