A Causal-Comparative Study Between the Aeronautical Decision-Making Skills of Collegiately and Non-Collegiately Trained Private Pilots

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative design study was to examine the relationship between private pilots’ flight training background (collegiate or non-collegiate) and aeronautical decision-making (ADM) skills among recently certificated private pilots enrolled in a commercial pilot flight training course at a Part 141 flight training program in a large, private, mid-Atlantic university. The problem is that although deficient ADM is a known major contributor to fatal general aviation (GA) accidents, it is unknown if there is a difference in the ADM skills of collegiately and non-collegiately trained private pilots. This study, built on the framework of dual-process theory and experiential learning theory, investigates the effect of collegiate flight training on a private pilot’s ADM skills. The literature was reviewed to find potential solutions to improve general aviation safety and ADM, and to determine differences between collegiately and non-collegiately trained pilots. The study sample included 36 students enrolled in stage one of the commercial pilot training course at the host university. Participants completed a digital version of the Pilot Judgment Test (PJT) to measure the dependent variable (ADM). An independent samples t-test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference exists between the ADM of collegiately trained private pilots and non-collegiately trained private pilots. There was not a statistical difference between the PJT scores of collegiately (M = 22.10, SD = 3.96) and non-collegiately (M = 21.42, SD = 4.61) trained private pilots. This finding implies that different training pathways are equally effective at training ADM.