Double-Loop Learning and Air Traffic Management Perceptions and Behaviors

This qualitative study examined management perceptions and behaviors that affect double-loop learning, as well as the defensive routines that inhibit learning, in the Air Traffic Organization of the Federal Aviation Administration. Nine senior managers from the Air Traffic Organization were interviewed. Resultant themes related to single- and double-loop learning in use, defensive routines, and ways to promote double-loop learning. Management perceptions included that the Air Traffic Safety Action Program promotes a judgment-free environment for identifying safety risks yet is perceived as a way to avoid individual accountability. Increased two-way communication by gathering input from all levels of the organization and decreasing defensive management behaviors (e.g., unilateral control) could increase organizational learning and adaptability. This study is unusual in its examination of the practical implementation of double-loop learning. Moreover, the voices of the air traffic control managers in this study fill a gap in aviation management literature.