Does Your Training Program Address Single-Pilot Safety Issues?

Author: Robert A. Wright

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee has established a Single-Pilot Working Group (SPWG) to address the safety issues faced by single-pilot operators of light business aircraft (LBA). The SPWG has been active for more than a year, but its importance was highlighted by several recent high-visibility LBA accidents in the US. These accidents cover a wide range of potential root causes, including basic pilot skill deficiencies as well as poor single-pilot resource management (SRM) skills.

The SRM issues highlighted by these accidents involve skills such as task and workload management. The accidents involved both normal and emergency operations, and occurred in turbine-powered aircraft operated by a single pilot. The fatal accident rate for single-pilot operation is considerably higher than it is for multi-pilot aircraft operations.

The NBAA Safety Committee has made single-pilot operation one of its top focus areas in both 2014 and 2015. The SPWG has been charged with devising mitigation strategies that will reduce single-pilot accident rates. In a meeting in January 2015, the SPWG concluded that training is a primary mitigation for such accidents, and plans to highlight training activities that single pilots can engage in to lessen their chances of having accidents. The work group also concluded that single-pilot training should be easily accessible to all operators, especially those that do not participate in simulator-based training programs at established training centers. The work group members agreed that online training is a prime method for providing easily accessible and convenient training.

Have you considered your own training regimen and the training activities you should engage in for the coming year? Based on recent accidents, you should ensure that you have a balanced program that includes emphasis on SRM skills as well as basic flight skills and abnormal and emergency operations.

TrainingPort.net, in cooperation with Crew Resource Management LLC, offers complete online SRM and CRM courses for business aviation (available for purchase through our storefront).

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Robert A. Wright is the president of Wright Aviation Solutions, LLC. He is a member of the leadership team of Crew Resource Management, LLC, which has been providing comprehensive CRM training to corporate flight departments for over four years.