| The purpose of this study was to identify factors that would distinguish between pilots who were vs. pilots who were not involved in a hazardous event in the past 5 years. The study used a cause-type ex post facto design to determine the relationship between the targeted variables and the dichotomous response variable that distinguished between the pilot groups. Research factors included age, years as PIC, involvement in hazardous events, gender, education level, flight time, hours in hazardous event aircraft, number of ratings/certificates, years experience with cockpit tools, perceived airport experience, hazardous attitudes, self-efficacy, and locus of control. The sample consisted of 146 resident U.S. pilots who volunteered to complete the study's protocols. Participants were solicited from professional pilot organizations, associations, and regional airlines.;A logistic regression analysis found that within the past 5 years pilots with an undergraduate degree or lower, with at least 1500 flight hours, and with fewer than 12 years as PIC were 3.6 times, 5 times, and 3.4 times more likely to be involved in a hazardous event than pilots with a graduate degree, fewer than 1500 hours, and with 12 or more years as PIC, respectively. A separate stepwise analysis confirmed these results and found that pilots with high self-efficacy were twice as likely to be involved in a hazardous event than pilots with low self-efficacy. A separate multiple regression analysis that examined the relationship among the targeted factors also found pilots on average were involved in one hazardous event per every 250-hour increase in accrued flight time, and a separate mediation analysis found that pilots' education level fully mediated the relationship between age and the two pilot groups. Findings suggest that formal education (a) can help improve the safety of surface operations, (b) can substitute for flight experience in maintaining safe airport operations, current pilots should pursue a graduate degree, and future flight students should pursue flight training at an FAA Part 141 flight school. |
