Low-time airline pilots are just as capable during normal flight operations as their more experienced colleagues, according to the findings of an Australian study designed to measure the relationship between total flight time and job performance.
The study, by researchers from the University of South Australia, was based on evaluations of data collected by trained observers during 287 normal sectors by pilots engaged in short-haul jet flights for a high-capacity regular public transport operator in Australia. A report on the study was published in the August issue of The Aerospace Medical Association’s Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.1
In the study’s examination of pilots’ technical proficiency, the report said, “There were no statistically significant differences between experience groups for first officers or captains. … However, there were minor differences with regard to nontechnical measures as a function of crew composition. There was a…
