Professor Brett Molesworth

Brett Molesworth RPsych, PhD. 
Brett, a Professor of Human Factors and Aviation Safety has qualifications in both Aviation and Psychology. He is also a pilot, and holds a Commercial Pilot Licence with an advanced aerobatics rating. His research focus is on aircrew and cabin crew behaviour in both normal and abnormal situations. In terms of aircrew, Brett has developed a variety of tools designed to measure pilots’ propensity to engage in risky behaviour, as well as applied techniques to improve pilots’ risk management skills. Specifically, Brett developed an implicit association test for pilots that is able to predict individuals’ willingness to engage in risky flying behaviour, such as low level flying. He is currently developing other applied assessment techniques and tools, namely paper based surveys that are designed to capture a broader range of risky flying activities.

Brett also has a keen interest in the factors that adversely affect both pilots and cabin crew performance. One such factor, which is prevalent in aviation is aircraft noise. To this end, he examines, from a cognitive perspective the effect of aircraft noise on both pilot and cabin crew performance. This involves testing the effect of aircraft noise on communication, namely memory and recall of verbally presented information, as well as the effectiveness of various countermeasures such as noise cancelling headphones in mitigating the detrimental effect of noise on performance.

Brett’s application of his knowledge and expertise extends beyond the aviation industry and includes other modes of transportation, such as road, as well as other high consequence industries, such as medicine.