Hey Smokey:
Great question! And I think the way you’ve chosen to communicate such an answer is perhaps one of the most commonly used. I would submit that the reason that it is probably the most used, is that it is also the most fair and the most honest – as I’m sure you and most of the other readers in this thread will agree – pilots are not hesitant to judge their own performance. But also true is the fact that they are not stupid, ignorant, nor blind. They know what the standards are, and they know, at least by gross measurement, when they’ve not met those standards. It’s been my experience that for the most part – by far the largest majority – of those who judge themselves, tend to rate their own performance more stringently than you or I would. So for those who believe they have failed and, indeed, have – the debriefing usually provides an opportunity to offer at least some encouragement while generally agreeing with their conclusion; “well, yes, your performance was below standard, but it was no where near as bad as you may believe it was.” It is also my experience, that after any training that may be necessary and any re-check required, the pilot is usually more confident in his/her own ability, and often expresses his/her appreciation to the evaluator who called it as he/she saw it originally; which, I believe, is one of the marks of a true professional, and one of many reasons why I dearly love being part of this fascinating industry.
It is those who don’t believe that their performance was as bad as it really was that presents a real problem – not only for the evaluator but for the company, the industry, and him-/her-self as well. As I said above, pilots generally are not stupid, ignorant, nor blind. When someone doesn’t recognize a substandard performance one of these precepts is not met, or the individual has a problem with being truthful about their own decisions and/or performance. I believe that any one of these maladies warrants additional scrutiny. Anyone who would disbelieve an evaluator in a calm, safe, air conditioned environment that exists after most “bouts” in a simulator, is very unlikely to believe his/her flying partner in a pressure packed airplane cockpit, with deteriorating circumstances. Without trying to be overly melodramatic, this is something that demands to be addressed, on the spot and with some level of continuation until the circumstance is resolved, one way or the other.
One other observation before I stop, is this – I believe that evaluators in the aviation industry, if they are successful at all (usually gauged by how long they’ve been at it) have developed an ability to see past any personal, ideological, political, or other differences that may exist between themselves and the person(s) they evaluate. This allows them to make the right call, all the time. It is my opinion that this ability is the solid foundation on which that evaluator’s reputation and the way he/she behaves in all facets of his/her life, as an aviator, an evaluator, and, indeed, as a human being, succeeds or fails, flies or crashes. And I also believe that it is these good men and women about whom the safety of the aviation world revolves.
_______
AirRabbit