36SQN pilot performance evaluation using MOSA

Open Access

Abstract

Mission Operations Safety Audit (MOSA) research was proposed by Sue Burdekin, an academic from the University of NSW Canberra, to develop a quick, inexpensive, and non-intrusive method of evaluating aircrew behaviour within specialist military flight operations. The aim of the research was to determine if pilots were able to accurately self-report on their own non-technical skills performance compared to the reports of that same performance by trained observers. It was first tested within fast jet, single pilot operations in a flight simulator. Following further development of the methodology, MOSA was successfully trialled in two civil, multi-crewed airline environments – a low cost carrier in Europe and a regional airline in the Indian sub-continent. The results from the research validated pilot behavioural self-reports across a range of subject matter expert designed, predetermined behavioural markers tailored to meet the requirements of the organisation. Predictive criteria included organisational safety culture and pilot experience. Having successfully tested the methodology in both simulator and field studies, in military and civilian flight operations, MOSA was adopted by 36SQN RAAF as a mature flight crew performance evaluation tool. The flexibility of the protocols permitted the squadron to incorporate a fatigue study into the data collection process, which was facilitated in flight by the use of electronic tablet technology.