High-flying Risks. Variations in working conditions, health, and safety behaviors among commercial airline pilots in relation to safety climate
Report by Melin, Lager & Lindfors (2018)
The aim of this study was to examine commercial pilots’ perceptions of the safety climate, as well as shed light on how different types of perceived safety climate are connected to pilots’ working conditions and health, as well as flight safety. Data were collected through self-reporting in a survey. The results presented in the report show that there are significant differences in safety climate among Swedish commercial airline pilots. Twenty-four percent of the pilots under investigation work in so-called high-risk climates, 35% in mid-risk climates and 41% in climates with low risk. The High-risk climate cluster should be seen as a risk group for flight safety, as it was characterized by an inadequate reporting and learning climate, poor communication and safety commitment, insufficient resources for good safety work, and faults in the systematic safety work.
The results also showed substantial variations between the different clusters regarding the pilots’ working conditions, health and safety behaviors. Throughout the High-risk climate cluster, pilots reported worse working conditions, worse health and recovery, higher levels of anxiety and depression, more incidents and mistakes, and more dangerous safety behaviors than other pilots.
Some of the results are remarkable and worrying: almost two-thirds of the pilots operating in high-rsik climates state that their employer have violated the flight time and rest time regulations – infringements that should not occur at all. From a practical safety and work-environment perspective, this study reveals a number of concrete conditions that are possible to change.
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