A computer-based analysis of expert and novice flight instructor preflight decision making

The study was designed to examine aspects of flight instructor decision making involving the decision to authorize a student to conduct an initial, solo, cross-country flight. Experienced and inexperienced flight instructors were examined on a number of dimensions during a computer-based task presented in a Windows-based environment. Although differences were noted between experienced and inexperienced flight instructors in terms of the decision-outcome, no differences were evident relating to the process of information acquisition. Differences evident within the experienced group, however, suggested that the context of the scenario may have contributed to the outcome. These results are discussed in relation to flight instructor decision making training and standardization.