A Theoretical Model to Understand Flight Instructors’ Safety Behaviors in the United States: Through Personality Traits, Self-Efficacy, Risk Perception, and Safety Climate

Abstract

Safety is an important aspect for any organization or individual to be successful, and the field of aviation has no exceptions. A CFI is authorized to give training and endorsements required for student, private, commercial, and instrument pilot certificates. CFIs play a very critical role in the success of pilot-in training students at flight schools (Osman et al., 2022). According to AOPA (2015), the two greatest risks in flight training are loss of control inflight (LOC) and midair collisions. Moreover, approximately 71% of the accidents in which a CFI was involved happened during takeoff/climb, low altitude maneuvers, and Instrumental Meteorological Conditions (IMC). The probable cause of LOC and midair collisions was due to poor decision making, bad judgement and unsafe behaviors of the CFIs (AOPA, 2015). In psychological aviation research, various perspectives, such as those associated with social cognition and personality, have attempted to explain individual differences in risky behaviors and accident involvement (Ji et al., 2011). The purpose of the present study was to build a theoretical model that demonstrates the relationship between personality traits, self-efficacy, risk-perception, safety climate, and safety behaviors of CFIs. A literature review was conducted to identify the existing relationships between the target constructs used in the study and the safety behaviors among workers across various aviation and non-aviation work settings. Over 100 abstracts were reviewed for relevancy, and 43 articles, published between 1990 and 2020, were selected for full review. Of the 43 articles selected, only 30 articles were thoroughly reviewed and used to extract information. The results indicated the proposed theoretical model: (a) CFIs’ personality traits as measured by CFIs levels of Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness will directly influence their safety behaviors; (b) CFIs’ self-efficacy and risk-perception named as affective domain variables will have a direct influence on their safety behaviors; (c) CFIs’ safety climate will directly influence their safety behaviors; (d) CFIs’ self-efficacy and risk-perception will mediate the relationship between CFIs’ personality traits and safety behaviors; and (e) Flight school’s safety climate, as measured by CFIs’ perceived.