Examining the factors affecting safety culture in approved training organisations

Abstract

Safety culture has a great influence on the success of an organisation. Considering pilots as the last point in the prevention of accidents or incidents in the aviation industry shows the importance of pilots' point of view on safety. In this study, approved training organisations (ATOs), which are the fundamentals of aviation, and the factors affecting safety culture are examined, and the perspectives on safety culture and its components in ATOs are evaluated. Commercial aviation safety survey is used to evaluate the understanding of safety. Out of 26 ATOs in Turkey, only five participated and total of 104 pilot candidates and pilot trainers volunteered to answer the questionnaire. Factors presented in the revised version of CASS are verified by exploratory factor analysis. Results show that some areas of safety culture in ATOs differ from safety management system's (SMS) desired outcomes. Recommendations are given to uphold the requirements regarding safety culture.