NZHPA Safety taskforce summary - #4 PROGRESSION AND TRAINING

PROGRESSION TRAINING AND SKILL  DEVELOPMENT
This issue is linked to currency but is distinct in that above we refer to currency as skill maintenance and here we use progression to refer to further skill development - although there are clearly blurred lines between these two concepts.

Some courses for skills in cross country flying, mountain flying, pilotage, and of course SIV training are available, but they are not compulsory for general pilots and pilots can undertake these types of flying without further formal training. For some pilots, there is never any requirement or motivation to do any further training at all. This may not matter for a few current and practised flyers or those who are content with a limited range of flying activities like, say, local coastal soaring. However, for many it means that they stop structured learning early in their careers and potentially build a situation on unconscious incompetence – where they ‘don’t know what they don’t know’ – and this can be dangerous.

• There is limited or no oversight of competence (or currency), particularly as pilots advance into new areas and onto new equipment
• There is wide variation in skill development and maintenance pathways taken by some pilots when compared to others.
• Those wanting to progress more deliberately may wittingly or unwittingly push limits on their own to achieve faster advancement.
• Pilots left to their own devices may develop bad habits and unconscious incompetence.
• There is limited formal progression training and no robust informal options such as mentoring or coaching easily available.

More recently data generated as part of the AIRS reporting hub clearly shows that the first 100 hours of a pilot's development is twice as dangerous on a per hour basis. It is in this first 100 hours where accident reduction efforts may have the biggest impact in occurrence reduction.

Anecdotes that appeared in reports in AIRS as a likely contributor to incidents included:

• “Experience for current conditions was inadequate.”
• “Lack of currency contributed to the incident”
• "I was flying too aggressively for my experience level as well as the conditions.”

Recommendations

• Recognise that ‘being certified’ as a PG2/intermediate pilot only gives a fraction of what you need to become a well-rounded and safe pilot. Seek out further structured and unstructured learning opportunities and connect with other experienced pilots.
• Actively engage with instructors and schools that encourage and provide post-certification training and progression.