Analysis of the impact of scenario-based training on the aeronautical decision making of collegiate flight students

The persistence of faulty decision making as a primary cause of accidents indicates a need to train pilots to make better decisions. The purpose of this study was to analyze scenario-based training's effectiveness at improving the aeronautical decision making of collegiate flight students. The researcher scored each participant's aeronautical decision making as they completed simulated flights in an advanced aviation training device. The scores quantified the participants' aeronautical decision making on seven decision-making variables and served as the basis for generating an overall decision making score for each participant. The experimental group completed a scenario-based aeronautical decision making treatment between their simulated flights. Chronbach's alpha analyses verified the scoring's internal reliability. Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests compared the participants' decision making before and after the experimental treatment. Although there were practical improvements, the differences were not statistically significant. The practical significance of the results suggests that further research is required.