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Pilot training

The resilience of pilots: a definition – how to enhance it?

Beside learning how to fly, one main issue that emerged from the recent major incidents and accidents is the fact that we have to raise the resilience of pilots. Let’s have a closer look at it in this 6th article by Captain Wannaz.
By Capt. Pierre Wannaz - Apr 17, 2020

Beside learning how to fly, one main issue that emerged from the recent major incidents and accidents is the fact that we have to raise the resilience of pilots. Let’s have a closer look at it in this 6th article by Captain Wannaz.

#resilience #PilotTraining #improvement #experience #competences #confidence

The necessity to improve pilots’ resilience is especially true nowadays, despite acting pro-actively to predict potential problems, especially in highly computerized aircraft, more and more crews are confronted with « Black Swan » events. These events are completely unexpected; they happen without pre-warning and have never been envisaged by the manufacturer, the training departments, and the authorities.

What is resilience and what does it mean for pilots?

Resilience is being defined as an individual’s ability to successfully adapt and respond positively to difficulties or other adverse conditions.

the resilience of pilots

Resilience is the product of the confidence (limited on the top by potential “overconfidence” that is another problem and subject for very experienced pilots) and the competence. An incompetent pilot or a pilot with no confidence is definitely an obstacle in the crew performance and will be less resilient than a confident and a competent one.

Ways for improvement of pilots’ resilience

>> How to improve the confidence? This is possible if we have the right tool, allowing us a better understanding of our own performances, our own strengths and our own weaknesses.

This way, we can build the confidence, and base the flight operations on our strengths.  By better knowing our weaknesses, it is possible to elaborate strategies that will enable us to work more efficiently, avoiding those weaknesses become an obstacle in the crew performance.

>> How to improve the competences? Competences are mainly acquired through experience, the one that we have seen by ourselves but also by the knowledge and experiences that we read or share with others.

To help us achieve better resilience, a visual support is most probably the best media.

 

Today, visual media is s already the one commonly used in order to share information outside aviation: See all the tutorials existing on YouTube or other social medias!

To that extent, CEFA AMS is a brand new experience facilitator and accelerator.

Pierre WANNAZ, Senior Advisor at CEFA Aviation

Pierre Wannaz
Senior Advisor CEFA Aviation
Captain on A330/A340, TRI/SFE,  acceptance pilot and legal expert in accident investigation

Now the 1st set of blog articles is all published. You can find them all on the blog “a pilot’s view” here.

Pierre has written them to raise discussions and above all to propose new approaches and bring possible solutions for the challenges faced by the flight training community today. So let’s continue to react and exchange!

Contact Pierre via LinkedIn or via this contact form. Or you can see him and the CEFA Aviation team now until 14th November at the International Air Safety Summit (IASS) organized by the Flight Safety Foundation in Seattle, USA.