Crew Resource Management...

We have been investing in the culture of CRM for a while now and the benefits are becoming more and more apparent...

The benefits, both perceived and real, of investing in this element of training are manifold.

...The benefits of doing it right out of the gate before instrument training begins is a no brainer as well!

Our private pilot curriculum focuses on the mental and logistical aspects of becoming a pilot in command, step by step, layer by layer, experience by experience. However once that goal has been reached and the pilot has acquired enough skill and experience to act as PIC they embark on their next role, and that is to function as part of a system. The journey to qualified professional pilot, commercial pilot with teaching privileges, or CFI, has a pitstop along the way known as instrument pilot. By putting this all together in what we call Avier Air we begin adding the building blocks that add up to the safest pilot we could imagine.

The first introductory class in this journey is what we call Crew Resource Management, CRM; and it focuses on developing an understanding of the responsibilities associated with the roles of pilot flying, PF, and pilot monitoring, PM, as well as the position of pilot in command, PIC. From this platform we begin teaching the skills associated with instrument flying and we get the pilot out there as part of a team. Instrument candidates fly with instructors sometimes, and with commercial candidates at other times, learning and practicing the their new skills and responsibilities.

This setup is not intended to pitch a revolutionary new training model, because it really isn't that at all. What is slightly unique is the fact that teamwork is introduced so early as a foundational concept. A deeper dive into the mechanics of this particular program would be for another day. This brief article is more about why we do this.

Lately I've been binging F1 Drive to Survive on Netflix and I've been mesmerized by the levels of cooperation and CRM associated with F1 sport from the selection process of all of the team members right up to the tip of the spear, the driver, right down to the processes associated with fine tuning these teams to work together. The car is designed from the ground up, season after season. There are many hundreds of people behind the most visible players, and the most obvious moment of choreographed ballet is the 2 second pit stop where 4 tires are changed and the fuel tank is filled and who knows how many other functions are performed.

That's all well and good, but the other element that stands out to me is just how many times the 2 drivers from any given team bump into each other as they vie for the lead. I know a Netflix reality series creates a bit of drama but I can see that the outcomes are real enough.

Everyone goes into a race with a unified goal, or do they? To win, right? Yes, but win for whom, themselves or for the team? Do they have the goal to win that one race or do they make decisions based on their career goals? As two drivers choose to not yield an advantage on the racetrack, they make decisions that end up costing both drivers, and so the team, the ability to even finish let alone win the day.

Analysis: how could the system be modified to create an advantage for all players to see the big picture while in the heat of battle? Rather than try to answer that question, let's skip right to the analogy: how can we nurture pilots who will make decisions that equate self interest with team interest?

The answer is not new to the airlines, its CRM, crew resource management. They are very good at it, the only problem is that they have to teach it as an underdeveloped skill in order to inclement it fully. This model of operation utilizes a well defined set of norms, protocols, and procedures that are performed by two separate but equally important roles: Pilot Flying and Pilot Monitoring. The system is so well developed that the players can be easily interchanged without compromising the structure. A pilot will arrive for work on any given day and find her/himself assigned to work with a different colleague than the day before but the job is so well defined and rehearsed that they will be able to play their part easily. Either of these pilots will be assigned the additional responsibility of Pilot in Command as well. This will be the one responsible for making final decisions.

Now I return to the initial thought from this article. Might safety be enhanced by integrating these roles into the earliest stages of pilot training? I think so. Aviation Instructors make educational decisions based on the concept of primacy among others. Primacy suggests that concepts are imprinted the way they are first experienced.

Professional cockpit safety is impacted by pilots' ability to work together toward well defined objectives. This outcome is best served by releasing a generation of pilots who have been raised on the roles of Pilot Monitoring and Pilot Flying as separate but equal, different, and complementary, all at the same time.

We recently, at Avier, sent two instructors into the ranks of professional pilots, both hired by a big part 91 subpart K operator and they both reported back that they felt that they were ahead of the curve in their new culture as compared with their classmates because of their extended exposure to Crew Resource Management and the roles of Pilot Flying and Pilot Monitoring. This, of course, got my wheels turning on how we might really kick this into high gear. We already embrace the culture of CRM, but perhaps we could more deeply integrate this into our culture and then set about the process of pushing it out to the industry widely.

As I said at the beginning of this article, this is nothing revolutionary and I lay no claim to being in at the ground level on the idea; its not new. For that matter, if someone else reads this, gets the spark and pushes it out before I get there, all the better for safety in this industry. On that note, I'll take a page from my own observations on F1 Drive to Survive. We're all on the same team, and we all have the same objective, whoever gets there first. Thanks for reading!