Human Interactions Affecting the Psychological Preparation of Airline Pilots

The purpose of the present study was to explain the human interactions affecting the psychological preparation of airline pilots.

Qualitative approach and thematic analytical method was used to conduct this study. The study population in this research were the pilots of an airline company in Tehran in 2019. In order to gather the necessary data, pilots were selected through purposive sampling criteria. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each pilot and this process continued until theoretical saturation was reached. In this study, a total of 10 pilots were interviewed and the obtained data were classified and coded.

The analysis of the findings led to the identification of the influences of human interactions on the psychological preparation of pilots in the form of interactions between the flight crew, interactions between teams related to flight, and interactions outside the work environment. Interactions between the flight crew were extracted as interactions between pilots and other flight personnel and topics such as respect for the job position. Interactions between flight-related teams were inter-sectoral interactions and were identified in the form of relationships between pilots with air traffic controllers and other non-flight sectors. Finally, most of the interactions outside the work environment were related to the pilotschr('39') family issues.

This study showed that there may be many undesirable interactions in different occupational and family areas of pilots that may lead to their psychological unpreparedness. This demonstrates the need to improve the quality of in-service training for pilots in relation to issues such as flight interactions and interactions between pilots and their families.