Attitude Changes in Navy/Marine Flight Instructors Following an Aircrew Coordination Training Course

In an attempt to reduce the number of aircrew caused aircraft mishaps in naval aviation, a trial aircrew training program was initiated in Navy and Marine Corps aviation training squadrons. Considerable resistance to change was encountered at the outset. The attitudes of flight instructors who were trained to teach the course were surveyed before and after the instructor training using Helmreich's (1984) Cockpit Management Attitudes Questionnaire modified for use by naval aviators. Shifts in attitudes following training were measured using a one-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank test. Significant shifts in the expected direction were detected. The implications of these attitudinal shifts are discussed.