Its Time To Talk About Bias In Pilot Examiners

12 September 2022

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Training for Aviation’s Next Era

The 20th European Airline Training Symposium

8-9 November 2022 • Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany

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Lex Rock Heemstra will be appearing at his fourth EATS this year. The former South African Air Force pilot and ex Human Factors Specialist at Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines will be speaking with delegates about the presence of bias in pilot examiners and what can be done to limit it.

Lex's presentation will draw on his 12 years of experience developing standardisation workshops for instructors and examiners at those two major airlines, he will discuss the training that can be conducted to reduce bias in judgement to ensure pilots have confidence they will be evaluated objectively and fairly.

At present, pilots have been know to call in sick to avoid particular examiners. Lex will reference a case study from Daniel Kahneman's 2021 book: “Noise – A Flaw in Human Judgement” which looks at the wildly differing sentences handed to two individuals found guilty of cashing fraudulent checks in 1973. The first man was sentenced to 15 years for cashing a $58.40 check while the second man received 30 days for the slightly smaller amount of $35.20. Neither man had previous convictions.

Pilots, Lex argues, are very aware of a similar imbalance in their own field and know their annual Pilot Proficiency Check in the simulator can have differing outcomes dependent on who the examiner is. Therefore, it is imperative that ATO's are doing all they can to ensure examiners are treating pilots equally and fairly.

Lex's presentation is part of a stellar offering at EATS 2022, which is packed full of the latest innovative training solutions for pilots and cabin crew. Supported by the training industry and subject matter experts, the  EATS 2022 conference will provide practical solutions for those day to day challenges and offers key insights into the future of the industry.

Presentations and moderated discussions led by industry and airline experts will allow the airline training community to share best practice, lessons learned and the challenges of recovery and return to growth.

The full details of our conference programmes are available  here

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