ความปลอดภัยด้านการบิน: การศึกษาอิทธิพลของการรับรู้บรรยากาศความปลอดภัยที่มีต่อพฤติกรรมความปลอดภัยของนักบินในประเทศไทย

Abstract

Safety has been considered as the most essential element in aviation. Past research has revealed that safety climate can positively affect pilots’ safety behaviors; however, no study to date has examined the influence of different levels of safety climate in the context of aviation. This study aims to contribute to the safety literature by testing a causal model of the influence of two levels of safety climates on safety behaviors of pilots in Thailand. The two predictor variables were organizational safety climate and Fleet Safety climates. The mediating variables were safety motivation, safety knowledge and attitudinal pride. The outcome variables (pilots’ safety behavior) were safety organizational citizenship behaviors, which comprise safety participation and safety courtesy. In addition, this study aimed to examine the proposed model was invariant among pilots with high vs. low flying hours. This research used a mixed method approach, which comprises both quantitative and qualitative methods. The population of the quantitative study was Thai pilots from seven airlines and three helicopter operators. The sample size was determined using a stratified sampling technique. The final sample was 610 pilots. Survey questionnaires were used to collect the data. The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The sample for the qualitative study was determined using a purposive sampling technique. The participants were drawn from the same airline companies, comprising 21 participants. In particular, the participants were composed of 7 executives, 7 captain pilots and 7 co-pilots. The qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured, in-depth interview. Content analysis was used for the data analysis. The findings from the quantitative study showed that the proposed structural model fit well with the empirical data. The results showed that both organizational safety climate and fleet safety climate did not directly influence pilots’ safety behaviors. In particular, organizational safety climate was found to positively affect the pilots’ safety behaviors via the mediating roles of safety knowledge and attitudinal pride, whereas fleet safety climate was found to positively affect the pilots’ safety behaviors via the mediating roles of all the three mediators. However, the analysis indicated that the proposed structural model was invariant (i.e., there was no difference) between the pilots with high vs. low flying hours. As for the qualitative study, the results were consistent with those of the quantitative study. In particular, the results showed that both organizational and Fleet Safety climates had a positive influence on pilots’ safety behaviors. Organizational safety climate was reflected in the company policies, executives’ mindsets, safety training and standard operating procedures (SOPs), whereas Fleet Safety climate was reflected in the pilots’ collaboration, communication and mutual respect. Pilots’ safety behaviors were reflected in how they voiced concerns and alerted one another when something appeared to go wrong. Safety knowledge and organizational pride were also found to play a role in influencing pilots’ safety behaviors. The main obstacles in aviation safety were the uncontrollable external factors. Moreover, flying hours and age did not directly affect pilots’ safety behaviors; on the other hand, pilots’ personality traits were found to play a role. While most pilots were conscientious when performing their work roles, it was found that some others were not. Future research should consider conducting a longitudinal design to examine of safety climate and also a comparative study that examines the possible differences between government and private pilots. Uncontrollable external factors affecting pilots’ safety behaviors should also be considered. Finally, future research may also consider developing measurements that are specific to safety in aviation, which likely contain multiple dimensions and longer items.