Introduction
Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) is the execution of flight crew training in a flight simulator for airline pilot trainees, as refresher course or recertification for flight crew with existing airline ratings. It allows flight crew to train under realistic environments but at the same time, emphasizes on the occurrence of atypical scenarios which require good decision making, intercommunication and leadership capabilities. It is therefore often use in conjunction with the Crew Resource Management (CRM) training programme. In order to have an accurate understanding of how well the flight crew react to the anomalies, the abnormal situations that the flight crew would face, would not be briefed to them beforehand.
Human Factors Relations
1) Trains Flight Crew to Display Good CRM
Through the exposure to various real time scenarios, especially those with usually high work load and extreme situations, flight crew would cultivate the capabilities to execute effective decision making, intercommunication skills as well as leadership quality during flight operations. This is achievable when they are able to appreciate and improve both their fortes and shortcomings in dealing with the circumstances.
2) Evaluate if Flight Operation Procedures & Instrumentations are Adequate
Through the testing and verification of standard operating procedures, airlines are able to unveil issues with the positioning of flight instruments, data presentation or cockpit layout difficulties which will in turn affect flight crew performance adversely. Mistakes which occur too frequently make reflect deficiencies in particular operational areas.
3) Evaluate Effectiveness of Flight Crew Training
Through the evaluation of the training outcomes, the airlines can determine if the flight crew training has achieved their learning objectives. Weak areas that require additional emphasis are looked into.
References
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. (2002, August 1). Retrieved 28 August 2010, from http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=664.
