Airline Pilot Risk Profiling by Using Unstable Approach Management Case

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Risk and human decision-making cannot be separated from each other. Many of theories and studies have tried to analyze pilots’ decision-making processes, risk factors, and preference behavior in the aviation domain. Unstable approaches are fairly infrequent, but an unstable approach is a major risk factor for landing accidents (Smith & Curtis, 2013; Smith, Jamieson, & Curtis, 2012). Therefore, the decision to execute a go-around if an approach is not sufficiently stable is encouraged in the interest of safety (Airbus Customer Services, 2012; Flight Safety Foundation, 2013), but in practice less than 5% of the unstable approaches actually results in a go-around (FSF, 2009; Flight Safety Foundation, 2013). The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictors of pilots’ opinions to complete a landing or to go around after an unstable approach. The findings show that age, gender, nationality, marital status, number of children, commuting time, flight training background, experience in years, total flight hour, flight hour at current aircraft type, and cockpit rank were not predictors for executing a go-around. The findings indicated that as A330 and B777 pilots’ flight scheduling perception increases so do their probability of executing a go-around. Additionally, self-confidence was a significant predictor for B737 pilots while job satisfaction was also a predictor for A320 pilots.

Author

• Ozyurek, Selim Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Airline Pilot Risk Profiling
• Flight Safety
• Unstable Approach
• Human Factors
• Aviation Safety and Security
• Management and Operations