AQP Vision for the Future

As we approach the turn of the century, commercial aviation is facing a period of potentially dramatic change, portents of which are already evident in changing pilot demographics, changing cockpit technology, and planned changes in the NAS environment. This circumstance will inevitably create greater challenges for the training of flightcrew and other operations personnel - to assure that proficiency commensurate with safety in a changing environment is maintained. The Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) provides a regulatory structure within which to accommodate change. But its successful execution is critically dependent on the establishment of a systematic development and comprehensive quality control process to assure that air carrier training is fully responsive to the challenges of the next millenium. AQP is a voluntary program that entails a strong commitment from the air carrier to exceed minimum training standards in the greater interest of safety.

Within five years we seek the full participation of all major U.S. passenger carrying airlines, and at least the ten largest regional air carriers, thereby assuring that over 90 percent of the passenger carrying capacity in the U.S. is subject to the safety benefits of AQP. We seek the establishment of a comprehensive, web-accessible data base containing detailed task analyses of every make, model, series, and variant of aircraft employed by these operators. We seek the standardized implementation of software tools for curriculum design on which basis required tasks, skills, and knowledge may be mapped onto the training and evaluation content of curricula in a systematic and auditable fashion. We seek to advance the state-of-the-art in task analysis to best capture the cognitive skills required for the operation of advanced cockpit technology.

We seek to advance the state-of-the-art in the training and evaluation of such cognitive skills. We seek the implementation of a means of precisely matching pilot entry level to training content. We seek the uniform establishment of data driven quality control tools for use by operator training departments and the FAA to track the proficiency levels of individual pilots as well as the continuing effectiveness of training curricula for operator fleet populations. We seek to integrate such monitoring tools within the Flight Standard Service's Air Transport Oversight System (ATOS). We seek to integrate the acquisition of digital flight data from both training simulators and aircraft, and to routinely employ such data for comparisons of proficiency measures in both domains. We seek the establishment of a continuous system of curriculum refinement and improvement based on data. We seek the use by all participating operators of advanced software tools for the creation of full flight scenarios that precisely target technical and crew resource management (CRM) skills.

We seek the establishment of a web-accessible library of validated simulator scenario event sets together with software tools for automating the creation of gate-to-gate scenarios therefrom. We seek the effective integration of CRM and technical skill training and evaluation throughout entire curricula. We seek the uniform implementation of a means for quantifying and maintaining a high level of standardization among instructors and evaluators. We seek to integrate subjective and objective assessment of pilot proficiency. We seek to monitor the reliability and validity of pilot proficiency measurement. We seek to maximize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of training methods and media by optimizing the match between training and equipment fidelity requirements at each point throughout a curriculum. We seek to advance the state-of-the-art in full flight simulation to better represent real world demands on aircrews within the simulator training and evaluation environment.