I'm sitting here looking at my next safety newsletter deadline
searching for a topic and the Millennium Manifesto falls in my lap. Thank
you, all. You make my burden light.
As another "line pilot", I need to agree with the previous comments
about useability. I know of a case where a learned CRM theorist was asked
to monitor CRM training for a major airline. Upon completion of the
course, a jubilant training director asked the doctor what he thought. He
asked one question, "Now that these new First Officers have completed their
training, what are they going to do differently on the line tomorrow?" The
director's blank stare answered his question. The theory and study are
both important and vital, but the practical application is where we make
our money. If we don't give the crews the tools and techniques to apply
the principles, then we have failed.
I have been writing Human Factors/CRM/Safety articles for my
audience for two years now. My best-received articles are the ones where I
slip in small bits of "science" in an otherwise entertaining format. The
average pilot's attention span is equal to a sixth grader's on the last day
of school, ten minutes before the bell.
Steve Swauger
B-737 Captain
TheSwaugers_at_Compuserve.com
P.S. In my world, "Bottom Feeders" are individuals of such low seniority,
that they get the cast-off flying assignments discarded by the senior
pilots. It has nothing to do with ability. As a proud bottom feeder, I am
deeply offended by any insinuation that I am a pilot of low ability : ).