Risk and threat perception: A pilot’s perspective on airline security

The 11th September, 2001 terrorist attack resulted in myriad new policies designed to enhance aviation security. These policies ostensibly considered the origins of the exact threat facing the USA. Missing, however, were the inputs from rank and file pilots of the airlines that policy makers were, in part, attempting to protect. This exploratory study distributed a 50-question survey to active pilots of one of the country’s largest air carriers. The survey was designed to determine pilot perceptions of security risks and threats. Using factor and reliability analysis, scales were developed to document the multidimensionality of the constructs of security risks and threats and to assess the appropriateness of the linear combination of variables used in the construction of the scales. Finally, correlation analysis was used to better understand which areas of airline security might be targeted by policy makers to enhance existing structures and practices. Results revealed statistically significant differences in the perceptions of pilot security concerns and the focus of current US aviation security policy.