Abstract The design of an automated aid, which can timely and appropriately assist a pilot, requires a detailed model of the pilot's cognitive and communication processes. The paper reports a preliminary study on human-machine and trainer-trainee interactions during an intensive training program conducted using a simulator of a new aircraft. The study focussed on the relationships between types of error and learning stages, and on the patterns of communications between the trainees in the simulator and the trainer in the control room.