Organizational Safety Culture in Pilot Training Schools: Case of North Texas in the USA and South Korea

Abstract

The sudden increased need for qualified pilots can cause potential risks for aviation training schools in South Korea because new pilot training programs need to be created, or existing organizations need to be expanded quickly. This study investigates safety culture at pilot training schools, builds a conceptual framework, and identifies the relationship between the sub-safety culture category and safety culture level in commercial pilot training schools. The authors survey the safety culture and management for the organizational aspect of these pilot training schools to clarify essential concepts and generate a conceptual safety management model. The authors examine the differences in safety culture between pilot training schools in the USA and South Korea and the effects these differences have on the organizations. Results show that the safety culture between pilot training schools in north Texas in the USA and South Korea is different. A pilot training school has to have a well-defined safety culture and management procedures in place and an awareness of the diverse cultural backgrounds of its student pilots to avoid potential cultural clashes and needless accidents/incidents.