Abstract:

Every commercial or airline pilot at the beginning of his career has to undertake difficult flight training which consists of extensive theoretical knowledge and at least 200 hours of practical flying. At the end of training course each of them has to pass through theoretical exams at Civil Aviation Authority and practical flying skill-test. A lot of newly qualified pilots holding a Commercial Pilot License and theoretical exams of Airline Transport Pilot License are unable to integrate into airline companies and fail the initial assessment in the airline company. Passing a flight training does not automatically mean that a pilot is ready to be a professional pilot. Insufficient competencies and especially lack of non-technical skills are the main reason why pilots fail to get employed. European Aviation Safety Agency impose to the each Approved Training Organisation to implement new theoretical subject named Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA). KSA will represent new education method which transfers from fact-based education to the competency-based training and assessment. The aim of the paper is to analyse the current state of the pilots´ training educational process. To achieve the aim of the paper authors conducted a primary research, through which the flight instructors from the Approved Training Organisations had the opportunity to express their opinion. Based on the research findings authors were able to propose recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of the new education method and to meet the airline companies’ expectations on future pilots.

Keywords:

Education, pilot training, competencies, non-technical skills.