‘Flying skill’ is ranked low on what makes a good pilot. Here’s why

As an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 roared too fast and too high down its final approach into Alaska’s Ketchikan airport in April 1976, the first officer tried to warn the captain they had a problem. Instead of backing up the first officer’s concerns, the flight engineer sitting behind the pair told a joke. “What’s the difference between a duck and a co-pilot?” He asked the captain. “A duck can fly.”

A minute later the aircraft skidded off the end of the wet runway and crashed. One person died and dozens more were injured. The first officer was captured on the cockpit voice recorder saying, “I told you”.

That crash nearly 50 years ago is a significant marker in the evolution of what is known as Crew Resource Management (CRM). These are the “soft skills” that ensure a crew can work effectively, and safely, together.

Following World War II, as the civil aviation sector boomed, many war pilots swapped carrying bombs for carrying passengers. But they brought with them the steep cockpit gradient derived from a strict military system of differing ranks, in which the captain was not to be questioned.

When the co-pilots eventually graduated to the captain’s seat, they considered it their turn to adopt the same attitude and so it remained the norm even as the wartime captains were retiring. Meantime, the jets were becoming bigger and faster but had none of the technological safety nets present today, meaning teamwork on the flight deck was crucial – something that didn’t always happen.

What has never changed is that captains are human. Mistakes can happen. But in the 1970s, there was very little willingness of other crew to speak up, and even if they did, captains hadn’t been trained to actively listen to them. Which is why CRM was born.

When thousands of pilots were surveyed about what made an “excellent” pilot, manual flying skills were ranked relatively low on the list.

Rather, situational awareness, decision-making, communication, teamwork and leadership, and workload management were viewed as essential skills.

Pilot recruitment began to focus on selecting candidates who demonstrated competence in these areas, and this was further developed through training in both ground school and simulator situations.

Yes, pilots need to be good at the old “stick and rudder” skill set because they do still regularly need to manually fly an aircraft beyond the limits of the autopilot, but integrating excellent CRM behaviours into the flying operation is just as important.

Another aspect of the CRM revolution was to empower any crew on the flight deck to feel comfortable speaking up if they weren’t happy with the operation of the aircraft. These crew were trained in “managing upwards”, providing them with a toolbox of phrases and words to indicate to the captain their discomfort with how the aircraft is flying, or being managed.

Equally, captains are trained to be active listeners, to ensure they can effectively recognise when they are being “managed” and to be open to questions and concerns. No member of the crew is infallible, including the captain, but being open to another crew member picking up an error is the key.

What flows from that is the challenge of how pilots go about communicating with each other on the flight deck. It is generally accepted that within any interpersonal communication, just 7 per cent of it is words, 38 per cent is tone of voice, and 55 per cent is body language. But flight decks are designed with the two pilots in the primary control seats facing forwards, and flying at night in a darkened flight deck is common.

This limitation places a higher degree of importance on the tone and words used by crew to ensure their communication with each other remains effective.

Another situation that pilots need to guard against is becoming overloaded, whether that be themselves or their colleague. Poor weather, a significant aircraft system problem and even fatigue can create this overload.

Often one of the first senses to be impaired in a situation of stress or overload is hearing. Missing a radio call from Air Traffic Control or not responding to a request from a fellow crew member may indicate that a pilot is overloaded and losing situational awareness.

Pilots are trained to recognise when this occurs in themselves or their fellow crew members, and how they can reduce the workload to allow a reset and ensure all crew members are comprehending the situation presented to them.

Interestingly, the world of medicine has taken notice of the aviation CRM evolution, with aspects of it being introduced into surgical theatres to ensure all members of a surgical team work together to ensure a safe outcome for the patient.

Hopefully, the days of the macho pilot are gone, and we are all safer for it. The goal instead is for modern flight decks to be filled with pilots trained as excellent communicators, attuned to their colleagues’ words and tone to identify concerns if they perceive safety to be compromised. And hopefully the only jokes are the ones everyone can have a laugh at, to fill the long hours in the sky.