AINsight: Single-pilot Flight Operations and Lemon Juice | Aviation International News

AINsight: Single-pilot Ops and Lemon Juice

Can psychological discoveries improve flight safety?

Lemons — © AdobeStock

By Stuart “Kipp” Lau • Contributor - Safety

March 29, 2024

Psychology researchers have found that some of the dumbest criminals and the cockiest pilots may have something in common: a hazardous cognitive bias—the Dunning–Kruger effect—that hinders self-perception, clouds judgment, and leads individuals to overestimate their ability. New psychological discoveries may provide a cure.

For the criminal, an overly optimistic assessment of the skills required to rob a bank may send them directly to jail, whereas a pilot with a false assessment of their abilities may take off into a thunderstorm, continue to fly into degraded visual conditions, or attempt a hazardous circling maneuver that leads to a fatal accident.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.

Stuart “Kipp” Lau

Contributor - Safety

About the author

Pilot, safety expert, consultant, and aviation journalist Stuart “Kipp” Lau writes about flight safety and airmanship for AIN.

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