Pilot training

Competency-based training explained

Pilots are now trained and assessed on how they manage a flight, not only on whether a manoeuvre came out within tolerance. This page explains the ideas behind that change in plain language: the competencies, threat and error management, CBTA and EBT, and what an assessor is actually watching.

By Matthew Dowell, airline training captain and examiner. Written in a personal capacity. This is a plain-language overview, not regulatory text. The rules that apply to you are in your authority's regulations and your operator's manuals.

The idea in one paragraph

Traditionally, training and checking looked at manoeuvres: fly the approach, hold the speed within limits, complete the drill. Competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) keeps the flying but asks a bigger question: what did the pilot do to manage the flight, and what would happen on a harder day? Each competency has observable behaviours, so an assessor can describe what they saw and why it was, or was not, good enough.

The nine competencies

The competency frameworks used in airline training are built around nine core competencies. In plain terms, each asks a question about the pilot:

Application of procedures and compliance with regulations

Do you know the procedures and rules that apply, and follow them correctly? It also covers recognising when a procedure does not fit the situation and what to do then.

Communication

Is the right information passed clearly, to the right person, at the right time, and is the reply checked? It covers speaking, listening and written communication, in the cockpit and outside it.

Aeroplane flight path management, automation

Do you use the automation well, know what mode it is in and what it will do next, and take back control when needed?

Aeroplane flight path management, manual control

Can you control the flight path by hand, accurately and smoothly, and decide when to hand-fly rather than rely on the automation?

Leadership and teamwork

Do you work with the other crew member as a team, give and accept direction, support others and speak up when something is wrong?

Problem solving and decision-making

Do you spot the problem early, gather what you need, weigh the options and act, then check the result?

Situation awareness and management of information

Do you know where the aeroplane is, what state it is in and what is changing, and do you use the information available to stay ahead?

Workload management

Do you prioritise, delegate and keep control of the tasks so that the important ones get done on time, and ask for help before you are overloaded?

Knowledge

Do you hold the knowledge you need and apply it correctly to the situation in front of you?

Assessors do not tick nine boxes at the end. They watch the whole flight and note what they see against these headings, which is why the way you talk to the other pilot, handle a busy moment or deal with a surprise counts as much as the flying.

Threat and error management (TEM)

TEM is the thinking that sits underneath the competencies. It starts from three facts: every flight meets threats (things outside your control that add risk, such as weather, traffic, a technical issue or time pressure), every crew makes errors, and the aim is to stop either from becoming an undesired aircraft state. Good crews anticipate threats, trap errors early and recover calmly. An honest account of an error, and what you did about it, is a strength in an assessment, not a weakness.

CBTA and EBT: how they relate

• CBTA is the principle: train and assess against competencies and their observable behaviours.
• EBT (evidence-based training) applies the principle to recurrent training. The content is shaped by evidence about where pilots and operations really meet difficulty, so training time goes to what matters rather than a fixed list of exercises.

For you as a pilot, the practical effect is similar in both: be ready to explain your decisions, work openly with the other pilot and show how you managed the flight, not just how well you flew it.

What assessors actually observe

• How you brief, and whether the briefing matches what happens.
• Whether you and the other pilot share the same picture of what is happening.
• How you split and prioritise tasks when it gets busy.
• What you do when something is not as expected: how early you notice, and how you recover.
• Whether you use the automation as a tool and know what it is doing.

This is exactly the lens used in airline selection, so the same habits help in the interview and the simulator. See what to expect at an airline pilot interview.

A self-check you can use before an assessment

Go through the nine competencies and for each ask: what is one thing I did recently that showed it, and one thing I would do differently? Writing short answers makes your own behaviour easier to describe. The free Competency Self-Assessment sheet below has one page per competency, with the behavioural markers that separate a pass from a finding.

What is inside Flying Competent

Five parts: why the system changed, the framework (TEM, the competencies, CBTA and EBT), one chapter on each of the nine competencies with case studies, and what it means for you as a pilot being assessed. Each competency chapter covers what it really means, where it bites, what strong and weak look like, and how to build it.

Part One

• Why Everything Changed

Part Two: the framework

• Threat and Error Management
• The Competencies
• Competency-Based Training and Assessment
• Evidence-Based Training

Part Three: the nine competencies, one chapter each

• Application of Knowledge (KNO)
• Application of Procedures and Compliance with Regulations (PRO)
• Communication (COM)
• Aircraft Flight Path Management, Automation (FPA)
• Aircraft Flight Path Management, Manual Control (FPM)
• Leadership and Teamwork (LTW)
• Problem Solving and Decision Making (PSD)
• Situation Awareness and Management of Information (SAW)
• Workload Management (WLM)

Part Four: the pilot in the system

• The Honest Mirror
• Walking Into the Check
• The Jump to Command
• Crossing to the Other Seat

Part Five

• The Learning System
• The Human at the Controls
• Where This Is Heading
• Back to Portland

Frequently asked questions

What is competency-based training and assessment (CBTA)?

CBTA trains and assesses pilots against a defined set of competencies, each with observable behaviours, instead of only against a list of manoeuvres. The question moves from 'did the manoeuvre meet the tolerance?' to 'how did the pilot manage the flight?'

What is the difference between CBTA and EBT?

CBTA is the idea of training and assessing against competencies. EBT, evidence-based training, applies that idea to recurrent training: the content is shaped by evidence about where pilots and operations actually meet difficulty, rather than by a fixed list of exercises.

What are the nine pilot competencies?

Application of procedures and compliance with regulations, communication, aeroplane flight path management by automation, aeroplane flight path management by manual control, leadership and teamwork, problem solving and decision-making, situation awareness and management of information, workload management, and knowledge.

What is threat and error management (TEM)?

TEM is a way of thinking about safe operations. Threats are things outside your control that add risk, errors are the slips and mistakes everyone makes, and the aim is to anticipate, trap and manage both before they lead to an undesired aircraft state.

Does this apply to private pilots as well as airline pilots?

The ideas apply to any pilot, though the formal competency frameworks were built around airline and professional training. A Private Pilot volume of Flying Competent is coming soon.

Next: airline pilot interview questions and what each one is looking for · the airline pilot interview guide · ATPL theory books.