Flight attendant and pilot perceptions of in-flight events

Abstract

Breakdowns in communication between flight attendants and pilots have been implicated in a number of serious air transport events. The present study was designed to investigate the perceptions of five in-flight events by 200 flight attendants and 99 pilots at an Asia-Pacific international airline. Participants viewed a video recreation of each event and rated the event characteristics on a series of measures. The results suggest that for some events (e.g., an explosive depressurisation) cabin crew and flight deck crew perceive the characteristics of the event and the most appropriate responses in highly similar ways. In other cases (e.g., drunk passenger, medical emergency) perceptions differ and this maybe one of several factors, such as reluctance to transgress social boundaries and disturb interpersonal and team cohesion, contributing to communication difficulties and ultimately breakdowns in overall team performance.