A Look at Risk Attitude: Flight Students Compared to Non-Flight Students

This study delves into a student pilot’s ability to perceive levels of risk compared to non-flight students. A pilot’s ability to assess risks and adequately mitigate or prevent that risk is essential for safe operation. A key principle for safe decision making is the ability to identify and correctly determine the level of risk within a situation. The base of pilot training should give an individual the tools necessary to identify these risks. In order to study the differences in risk attitudes of flight students compared to non-flight students, we administered a survey. Participants were collegiate flight and non-flight students recruited from a four-year university in Florida. All participants were administered the DOSPERT Risk Measurement Test (Blias & Weber, 2006). The DOSPERT Test is comprised of 30 questions on a 7-point Likert type scale ranging from Not at all Risky to Extremely Risky. The questions involve areas including Social, Recreational, Financial, Health, and Ethics. The implications of our study’s results could be used to further understand the differences of risk attitudes of pilots as compared to non-pilots. This study will be generalizable to students in four-year collegiate flight programs or STEM degrees. The data collection is ongoing, and the results will be ready to present by December