NATIONAL CULTURE AND FLIGHT DECK AUTOMATION - RESULTS OF A MULTINATION SURVEY

Attitudes regarding flight deck automation were surveyed in a sample o f 5,879 airline pilots from 12 nations. The average difference in endo rsement levels across 11 items for pilots flying automated aircraft in 12 nations was 53%, reflecting significant national differences in at titudes on all items, with the largest differences observed for prefer ence and enthusiasm for automation. The range of agreement across nati ons was on average four times larger than the range of agreement acros s different airlines within the same nation, and roughly six times lar ger than the range across pilots of standard and pilots of automated a ircraft. Patterns of response are described in terms of dimensions of national culture. Implications of the results for development of safet y cultures and culturally sensitive training are discussed.