Customer Reviews

Facilitation in Aviation Training and Operations (Studies in Aviation Psychology and Human Factors)

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This practical book provides a comprehensive coverage of facilitation and adult learning techniques and how they can assist with training, analysis and de-briefing in airline operations. The authors trace the history of the facilitation concept from its original therapeutic applications, through its adoption by the quality management movement, to its eventual introduction into airline operations with rise of line oriented flight training. There is still a place for traditional instruction when technical information must be transferred, but as the authors note "few things can have more impact on the efficiency and safety of flight operations than enabling crews to analyze and improve their own performance". Unfortunately, when it comes to debriefing crew performance, airline training personnel do not always have the skills needed to be effective facilitators. This book will be a useful reference for all who are involved in facilitation, whether as trainers or line pilots.

The authors bring hard won experience to the topic. As well as providing practical tips and techniques for crew debriefings, they warn of the traps and pitfalls awaiting the unwary facilitator. I could easily imagine the nameless pilots whose post-sim debriefs were derailed as one person did all the talking, or where the discussion degenerated into technical nitpicking. In the final chapter, Captain Mimi Tompkins provides a useful introduction to critical incident stress debriefing.

The book is focused on flight operations, but the authors note that facilitation concepts have value throughout aviation organizations, and in applications outside aviation as well. Unfortunately, the authors have largely limited their scope to airline flight operations, although brief mention is made of the value of debriefs in medicine, law enforcement and education. The practical concepts they cover would be of great value for those in maintenance, air traffic control and other sectors of aviation. Perhaps they will consider a follow-up book on these topics.