CRM and the Shortcomings in Helicopter Operations: A Vision of a Helicopter Pilot

In the aviation world, any rule must be exhaustively reviewed, such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), to achieve safety. This plays a great role in Crew Resource Management (CRM). Any system with flawed rules can lead to flight crew complacency. According to Yerkes and Dodson, there was an optimum point that guided pilots to achieve their best performance with regard to workload. Conversely, defective SOPs along with inadequate training can make pilots work at the extremes of the performance vs. workload graph, where small performances are associated with either too low or too high workload. Sometimes, skilled professionals need a shock to realize whether they are doing the right thing. Recalling “blood priority” theory or the tombstone safety is essential to change from a job narrowing vision to an open one in a CRM perspective. Blood priority consists of recalling previous incidents or mishaps to increase situational awareness at a point in time when the crew has forgotten that safety matters for preventing an aeronautical accident from the CRM point of view. Therefore, based on real-life examples, this research is going to present facts to answer questions about ineffective Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Organizational Culture, and bad crew decision-making and how it impair flight crew’s performance in helicopter operations from the CRM perspective