Research · One Part of Our Mission
Understanding How Pilots Learn to Command
Our mission is to help pilots become Pilot-in-Command of their lives. Research is how we learn what works: we bring together airlines, Part 135 and Part 91 operators, and leading educational institutions to study the leadership gaps and give the industry real intelligence.
Real-World Effects
The Gap Has a Cost
When command is left to chance, the industry pays for it: in scholarships that never produce a pilot, in new hires who cannot lead, and in accidents that judgment could have prevented.
“The NTSB has continued to cite inadequate leadership in the flight deck… as factors in multiple accidents and incidents, including Pinnacle Airlines flight 3701 and Colgan Air.”
Federal Aviation Administration · Pilot Professional Development Final Rule, 2020Scholarships that reach the finish line
Every scholarship that ends before the certificate is investment that never becomes a pilot. When EAA paired Ray scholarship funding with chapter support, completion reached about 80%.
Required by law, and arriving late
Since 2020 the FAA has required leadership training for every airline captain, because crew resource management training “is not designed with the express intent to provide leadership training to PICs.” It begins at the captain upgrade, years into a career.
Where safety is won
The FAA says Colgan “focused public and Congressional attention on… whether pilots were obtaining the training required to serve as leaders in the flight deck.” Human error is implicated in 70 to 80% of aviation accidents. Judgment, discipline and command are what bring everyone home.
Sources: AOPA (2010); EAA Ray Aviation Scholarship; FAA, Pilot Professional Development Final Rule, 85 FR 10896 (2020), including NTSB findings; FAA AC 121-42 (2020); Shappell & Wiegmann, DOT/FAA/AM-00/7 (2000).
How We Work
Industry and Education, at the Same Table
Quantum Leadership Aviation puts industry partners together with educational institutions to inform the leadership gaps. Through research, we work to inform how aviation understands leadership, judgment, and responsibility, strengthening the future of the profession itself.
Airlines
Where the FAA has required leadership training for every captain since 2020.
Part 135 Operators
Where small crews carry passengers, and judgment often rests on one or two pilots.
Part 91 Operators
Where owner-pilots often fly single-pilot, without an airline structure around them.
Educational Institutions
Where the next generation of pilots is formed, and where leadership can begin on day one.
Working toward collaborations with operators and educators to understand leadership development in aviation and evaluate practical interventions.
Take Part
Bring Your Organization Into the Research
If your organization would like to take part, we would welcome a conversation about how we can work together.
Sean Aeran, ATP
Sean@quantumpilot.org
434-242-9044
501(c)(3) Public Charity
EIN 39-3627077