A NEW APPROACH TO AERONAUTICAL DECISION-MAKING: THE EXPERTISE METHOD

Four studies of pilot decision-making were conducted to formulate a general model of the expert pilot that might be applied to novice pilots in order to increase their decision-making skills and reduce their risk of accident involvement. This set of studies began with a series of unstructured interviews of pilots to identify and compile characteristics of the expert pilot. Each succeeding study, then, became more structured in its approach as the characteristics of an expert pilot were more closely defined. From structured interviews conducted as part of the second study, a preliminary definition was obtained that stressed motivation, confidence, superior learning and performance skills, and an intuitive decision-making style. The third study evaluated these characteristics as they were possessed by pilots of three types of relatively high-performance general aviation aircraft. In the final study, experienced pilots were presented with a plausible general aviation flight scenario using a verbal protocol methodology. The responses of the pilots to this table-top simulation were recorded and analyzed. These data suggest that, when compared to competent pilots, expert pilots tend to (1) seek more quality information in a more timely manner; (2) make more progressive decisions to solve problems; and, (3) communicate more readily with all available resources.

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