Energy Safety Management: A Training Model to Improve Flight Safety.

Failing to properly manage an airplane's energy state can be unforgiving. Mismanagement of mechanical energy (altitude and/or airspeed) is a contributing factor to three common types of fatal accidents in aviation: loss of control in flight, approach and landing accidents, and controlled flight into terrain. Recognizing the importance of energy management, the Federal Aviation Administration has incorporated new elements into the Airman Certification Standards, emphasizing knowledge of energy management concepts and the consequences of mishandling an airplane's energy state. Unfortunately, no adequate guidance has been available in terms of defining key energy management concepts or suggesting how these should be taught to the average pilot and applied to everyday flying. This article introduces energy safety management (ESM) as a best practice for incorporating energy management into pilot training. First, ESM integrates three well-tested energy management theories developed independently in engineering, military science, and biology. Second, ESM relies on the power of simple analogies and a pilot-oriented approach to make energy management principles accessible and practical to any airplane pilot operating standard propulsion/flight control systems and existing cockpit displays. Third, to organize and optimize learning, ESM incorporates a well-known human performance framework that establishes how humans learn to perform new tasks. In sum, this article offers both the rationale and the road map for an outside-the-box instructional approach illustrating how established complex scientific concepts can be taught to any pilot. The ESM training model has successfully been applied to design a new college course and, in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration, is being used to support and develop new energy management guidance materials for pilots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]