Crew resource management: The relationships between personality types and crew resource management attitudes of pilots

In the literature there are many results about the human factors and the other human related factors as the most important root causes of aircraft accidents. In this regard, Crew Resource Management approach is defined as using all of the resources such as knowledge, equipment and people for safe, effective and efficient flight operations. The main purpose of this study is to determine the pilots’ attitudes towards CRM and to determine the relationship between CRM attitudes and personality types. Within this study, the relationship between the pilots’ CRM attitudes and the demographic variables such as the status, ages, levels of education, flight experiences, and professional origins of pilots researched. 340 pilots of a national airline in Istanbul were participated in the research. Crew Resource Management Attitudes Questionnaire and Vocational Personality Inventory were used. The data is analyzed by descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, ANOVA and Scheffe tests. According to the statistical analysis, there are significant correlations between the personality types and CRM attitudes. Results reveal that significant differences between pilots’ professional origins, ages, educational status and education sources, aircraft types, flight experiences.