Exploring the Experiences of Pilots within Canadian General Aviation Flight Operations

Abstract

This article reports on a study of Canadian pilots that focused on the threats, errors, and nontechnical skills of pilots within Canadian general aviation (GA) operations. The measurement of nontechnical skills is compared to the standard measurement of flight hours as a measure of pilot expertise. The authors note that nontechnical skills may develop at different rates depending upon exposure to different threats and errors within specific types of flight operations. The study included 130 narratives describing real-world scenarios, gathered from pilots with an online self-report Hangar Talk Survey (HTS). Within the narratives, three pilot reviewers identified threats, errors, and nontechnical skills. The authors found that several threats, errors, and nontechnical skills were significantly associated with specific types of operations. Analyses revealed that the threats of operational pressure, airport condition, and student pilot error were significantly associated with the type of operation. They conclude that the rate of nontechnical skill development may be linked to the type of operation a pilot is involved in, rather than to the number of flight hours alone.