The Crew Resource Management Attitudes of U.S. Naval Aviators

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of, and findings from, a survey designed to measure the Crew Resource Management (CRM) attitudes of U.S. Naval aviators. An attitude questionnaire based upon the Flight Management Attitude Questionnaire (FMAQ) was used. A total of 364 responses were received from U.S. Naval aviators. To obtain acceptable Cronbach's Alpha levels it was necessary to drop nine items from the questionnaire. A comparison of the responses to the questionnaire suggested that tactical jet squadrons may benefit from training on recognizing, and addressing, the effects of stress in other aviators. A more important finding, and counter to expectations, was that senior aviators were significantly more supportive of an open cockpit climate than junior aviators.