Aviation Psychology in Practice

This book seeks to extend the boundaries of aviation psychology in two interrelated ways: by broadening the focus of aviation psychology beyond the flight deck to the whole aviation system; and by discussing new theoretical developments which are shaping this applied discipline. A key feature of these theoretical advances is that they are grounded in a more developed, ecologically valid, understanding of practice. Among the issues addressed in this new integration of theory and practice are the following: what goes on in the flight deck is dependent on the wider organisational context; human factors issues in aircraft maintenance and grounding are critical to aviation safety; our capacity to learn from aviation accidents and incidents needs to be supported by more systematic human factors investigation and research; we must also develop our understanding of the human factors of accident survival as well as accident prevention; theories of crew coordination and decision making must be supported by an analysis of how decisions are actually made in the real world with all its stresses and constraints; training should be grounded in a thoroughgoing analysis of the complexity of the job and a full understanding of the training process itself. The text will be of interest to human factors researchers and practitioners in aviation and related areas. It will be of particular relevance to those who have a role in training, management or regulation throughout the aviation system.

’This book offers a timely contribution to the aviation psychology scene. The editors and contributors cover a wide range of the subject and have excellent experience to draw upon...The layout is clear and easily understandable...the editors are to be congratulated on their achievement.’ Aerospace ’This book would readily serve as a text book for an Introductory Aviation/Psychology course, as well as an excellent refresher for those involved in the practice of aviation psychology. The book is printed on good quality paper; it is well bound and benefits from numerous tables and figures. It certainly seems worth its price and will return many benefits to those who invest in it.’ Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine

Neil Johnston is an Airbus 330 Captain with Aer Lingus. He was the founding Chairman of the Human Performance Committee of IFALPA (the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations) and was chairman of the Human Factors Working Group of IATA (the International Air Transport Association). Nick McDonald is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in Trinity College Dublin. He is a founder member and chairman of the Aerospace Psychology Research Group, a broad-based research organization dedicated to fostering human factors research in aviation. Ray Fuller is Head of the Department of Psychology and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin. He is a former President of the Psychological Society of Ireland and representative for Ireland on the EC Committee on Toxic and Psychological Factors in Road Traffic Accidents.