Aviation training company FlightSafety International is to partner with Presage Group, a predictive human behaviour in the workplace analyst, for an aviation go-around decision-making and execution study for Gulfstream jet operators.

This is the first large two-pilot business jet study of its kind using Presage's intellectual property (IP) that has been successfully implemented at airlines around the world and more recently with corporate jet single-pilot operations. Data outputs, mitigation strategies and procedural/policy changes resulting from the study will be integrated exclusively in FlightSafety training programmes.

“With runway excursion events continuing in the business aircraft sector, we have to do more to address the root cause. By focusing on the decision-making leading up to touchdown in training, we can directly attack the threat in flight operations. Our aim is to provide a level of training that goes well beyond regulatory minimums and is acutely focused on safety threats,” says FlightSafety EVP of safety and regulatory compliance Richard Meikle. “This initiative will include both side-stick and traditional flight control installations to ensure a broad understanding of crew coordination and decision making.”

The study will commence this summer on the latest models of Gulfstream aircraft including the G500, G600 and G650 models, and will continue through early 2023. Once the results are analysed and recommendations are made, the learnings will be deployed into FlightSafety's Gulfstream training curriculum with follow on studies in other types likely.

Presage co-founder and CEO Dr Martin Smith says: “What we know from our studies is that in the moment of critical decision making when situational awareness may be degraded, compliance with operational procedures diminishes. Through our IP, we uncover why that is happening.

“We then empower front-line pilots to address the underlying issues and build procedures that prime the psychological pump in a manner that makes sense and works for them. With these changes, we have found that safety metrics improve dramatically, along with operational efficiency. It's a win any way you look at it.”

“Using our psychological tool to understand human behaviour in the moment adds an important capstone to conventional procedural development, which goes beyond what normal operators do. It's a switch in thinking,” adds vice president of operations and business development Piyush Gandhi. “When this methodology was deployed with the Citation Jet Pilots Association, also in partnership with FlightSafety, the results were revolutionary. We intend to do the same with Gulfstream operators.”