Most books on human factors in aviation cover the subject well but do not necessarily take the strong practical focus of this book. Drawing on his 44 years of pilot experience and his 31 years as a professor of psychology and human factors engineering, the author addresses the questions of how to apply sound human factors principles to the training of pilots and to one's personal flying. He takes a positive approach to the subject, focusing on safety and good practice rather than on accidents. While problem areas are acknowledged, and the book points out how certain problems may result in mishaps, it avoids focusing on individual accidents.

This is equally useful for the pilot wanting to make a systematic study of the human factors issues behind safe flying, and for the instructor or serious student needing an authoritative text.