February 2019 | www.sayer.com
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C
ULTURE is
the term which
describes the
characteristics
and knowledge of
a particular group
of people. It is a
broad term which
encompasses language, religion, cuisine,
social habits, music and art. Furthermore,
culture is shared patterns of behaviour
and interaction, cognitive constructs
and understanding that are learned by
socialization. Culture can therefore be seen
as the development of a group identity based
on patterns which are unique to that group.
Culture is not necessarily dened by
race, politics or nationality, despite that in
real life we do see some such correlations.
Culture is not a static thing: it grows and
changes. Cultures, or portions thereof, are
adopted and assimilated into other cultures,
particularly in our modern connected
world. Indeed, the roots of the word are in
“cultivation”, which means to tend the elds,
to grow and to nurture.
The purpose of culture is that it creates
a unity of purpose and ease of cooperation
between members of a cultural group,
no matter that some aspects of it may be
irrational or superuous.
Most discord in the world is based
on clashes of culture. Where cultures are
incompatible with each other yet come
together for common purposes or are
integrated through other circumstances,
friction and intolerance are certain to result.
There are deep psychological roots in
one’s own culture, which has been learned
from a young age. There are also strong
psychological responses to challenges
against that culture which become
embedded in one’s psyche.
COCKPIT CULTURE
The development of a consistent culture
among pilots and other personnel involved
in the operation of aircraft is essential to
smooth functioning and safety. Consistency
and cooperation automatically ow between
members of a group who have adopted and
live out certain ways of interacting.
Cockpit culture is a generalised concept
that for the most part attempts to counter the
hazardous attitudes which the United States
FAA identied among pilots. These attitudes
are anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability,
macho and resignation.
ANTI-AUTHORITY
Rules, regulations and checklists have
been developed for your own safety. They
are written in the blood of past pilots and
their passengers.
Humans are by nature ground-pounders
and unlike birds, have never evolved the
innate ability to y. They therefore have to
learn all the skills, instincts and ‘muscle
memory’ that help them to y an aircraft. The
rules codify these necessary qualities – and
a safety culture ensures that the pilot will
naturally follow those rules. As soon a pilot
begins to think the rules don’t apply to him
(or her), he loses his link to the lifelines that
have been created to keep him alive.
AOPA BRIEFING
REPORT: CHRIS MARTINUS
Pilot culture is an essential part of who we are and how we stay alive. Fortunately, pilot
culture transcends race, nationality, language, religion and the many other things that
divide societies.
PILOT CULTURE
The FAA hazardous attitudes and the antidotal thinking to avoid them.