This 2026 systematic review by Molloy et al. highlights the growing role of machine-learning approaches in objectively assessing cognitive workload in aviation through physiological and behavioural data such as EEG, heart rate variability, and eye-tracking. For CRM and human-factors practitioners, the paper is significant because it demonstrates how advances in data analytics may allow workload to be monitored more accurately and potentially in real time, providing deeper insight into how workload influences situational awareness, decision-making, and crew coordination in complex operational environments
In this 2026 study, Bills, Costello, and Cattani present a rare inside look at how 12 leading government Safety Investigation Authorities (SIAs) actually analyse major aviation accidents.
The study maps the investigation models and analytical frameworks used in practice by investigators and compares them with both ICAO guidance and contemporary academic debate.
This brand new (2026) review by Okine and colleagues presents one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of how human factors (HF) research has evolved within aviation safety. What does it tell us about the growth and development of human factors in aviation, and are there any lessons in there for how we train crew resource management on the front line of aviation?
We look at what a major new systematic review by Yiu et al. (2026) tells us about how artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way aviation understands and manages human performance, with major implications for human factors research and Crew Resource Management (CRM) training.
This paper systematically reviewed published evaluations of CRM training effectiveness in order to quantify the impact of CRM on key outcomes such as learner reactions, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours. It is significant because it provided one of the first quantitative syntheses showing that CRM has positive impacts on key human factors outcomes and validated CRM’s general effectiveness.
This study by Captain Vlaskamp and colleagues from TU Delft in the Netherlands examines how airline pilots experience startle and surprise in real operational contexts and evaluates their use of a structured startle/surprise recovery method known as the “Reset Method.”
This study by Vlaskamp and colleagues investigates how often startle and surprise events occur in helicopter operations, how pilots respond, and what mitigation strategies are currently used or could be adopted to enhance safety.
This paper proposes an emotions-based training approach for aviation crews that complements traditional Evidence-Based Training (EBT) and CRM by integrating mental preparation, self-awareness, and stress/emotion management techniques adapted from sports psychology.
This study explores how CRM training translates into real operational practice from the perspective of cabin crew members in commercial air passenger transport. Findings indicate that CRM training positively influences situational awareness, communication, teamwork, stress and workload management, and proactive safety behaviors, suggesting that core non-technical skills are indeed carried over into the field
This study systematically compared Crew Resource Management (CRM) in commercial aviation with Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM) in general aviation to assess how each contributes to safety outcomes.