ABSTRACT
The importance of teams or crew communication in aviation has long been recognized. Communication among members of the crew is critical in the timely execution of procedures, shared situation awareness, and effective decision making (Kanki, Folk & Irwin, 1991; Kanki & Foushee, 1989). Failures in communication have been cited as causal factors in aviation accidents. In fact, Wiegman and Shappell (2001) classified commercial aviation accidents between 1990 and 1996 according to their Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) scheme and found that nearly 30 percent of them were associated with crew resource mismanagement. Indeed, Crew Resource Management training has been developed to address the need for effective communication and other forms of crew interactions.
