Day 2 at WATS sharpened the focus on how technologies such as AI and VR are actively reshaping training delivery across the pilot, maintenance, ab initio, and cabin crew streams. Yet rather than replacing the human element, these tools are amplifying it: generating data and insight that expose the realities of human performance, including our limitations, biases, and decision-making gaps.
Here are five highlights from the day:
1. AI-driven simulation is beginning to reshape pilot training—and regulation (Pilot Stream – Technology)
Larry McDonald, Senior Technical Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, and industry consultant Dr. Jeremy Goodman, presented the FAA’s research into Simulated Air Traffic Control Environment (SATCE), which Goodman has worked on for over 16 years.
SATCE is emerging as potentially the first AI-based technology to impact nearly every professional pilot training program and training device globally. The session demonstrated how integrating AI-driven ATC into Level D simulators creates more realistic, system-level training scenarios. Crucially, this is already influencing future FAA regulatory thinking, positioning SATCE as a potential global shift in how pilot training devices are qualified and used.
Dr. Goodman said this has been a major training gap for more than 40 years, despite pilots operating daily in “busy skies and at busy airports.” He said SATCE could have a greater long-term impact than XR technologies because it affects “almost every single device and almost every single training program” across civil and military aviation.
The technology is already being adopted by airlines including Japan Airlines and Alaska Airlines, with growing demand across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Jeremy also highlighted a major FAA research partnership with ASTi to measure SATSI’s impact on training. He explained the FAA wants “hard data” to improve future standards and guidance, with results from recent simulator trials expected later this year.
2. High-fidelity VR is expanding the boundaries of training, from cockpit to cabin (Ab Initio & Cabin Crew Streams – Technology)
Across both pilot and cabin crew training, VR has moved decisively from concept to implementation.
Scott Sykes, Chief Development Officer, US Aviation Academy, highlighted how VR-enabled flight training devices can enable ab initio students to achieve proficiency earlier and safely train complex scenarios that can’t be safely done in an aircraft, from engine failures to poor visibility. This, combined with better and cheaper technology that is making simulators more accessible to flight schools, means students could be spending more time in the simulator.
Sykes explained that the market for high-fidelity simulation in ab initio training is still emerging, with his organization acting as a launch customer for several next-generation devices that are only beginning to arrive. Scott described the initiative as “our hopes and dreams and prayers of what will be in the future,” driven by a mission to make training more accessible, effective, and safer for students progressing toward airline careers.
At the same time, VR is also impacting cabin crew training. Patrick Hejlesen, Chief Ground Instructor CTKI and Head of Virtual Reality Training at Sunclass Airlines shared a real-world case study of implementing VR through the airline’s “Above and Beyond” program. His session emphasized that success depends not just on the technology, but on integration, instructor engagement, and organizational culture.
3. Human factors are exposing hidden weaknesses in pilot assessment (Pilot Stream – Human Performance)
Aleksandra Kapela, Aviation Psychologist and Human Factors Specialist with Symbiotics, delivered a standout session on decision-making and cognitive bias that even instructors may not be aware of.
Using neuroscience and live audience interaction, she showed how bias operates before conscious awareness, shaping pilot selection and assessment. She stressed the need to incorporate objective behavioral and cognitive data into training and evaluation to reduce these effects and improve fairness and accuracy. Despite advances in technology, she emphasised that people remain central to safety, noting that “no matter how advanced the technology is… the biggest factor that we should focus on… is this connected with human factors.” She added that a more data-driven, competency-based approach could also help address gender imbalance by focusing on skills rather than personal characteristics, ultimately leading to better training and safer outcomes.
4. Training must adapt to a new generation—without losing hands-on capability (Maintenance Stream – Workforce & Delivery)
Lashonda Clarke, Aviation Maintenance Program Director at Kansas State University explored the growing generational shift in aviation maintenance.
As Gen Z and Gen Alpha learners enter training environments, expectations around technology and communication are changing. The challenge is to blend digital-native delivery with traditional hands-on skill development, ensuring engagement without compromising technical depth or retention.
“This topic is timely because aviation maintenance education is being pushed to evolve from several directions at once,” she said. “We are seeing generational shifts in how people expect to learn, growing pressure to prepare students for real workforce demands, and more technology entering the training space. The real issue is not whether training should change. It is how to make those changes in a way that actually strengthens skill development and retention without lowering standards.”
5. Standardization remains the foundation of consistent training outcomes (Maintenance Stream – Systems & Delivery)
Speaking in the afternoon, Captain Brock Booher, Hilo Aviation’s EVP Corporate Development, reinforced the importance of standardization in training delivery.
Using the 1983 Gimli Glider incident, when Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet, as a case study, he showed how inconsistency in instruction, evaluation, and debriefing leads to variable outcomes. In that instance competent professionals were working from different playbooks during the airline’s metric transition – with tragic results.
He introduced a practical framework for instructor-evaluator standardization based on standardized briefings, execution, debriefings, and behavioral observation. Using a recipe analogy, he explained that while instructors should retain their personal style, the methodology must remain consistent to ensure fair and accurate assessment across the system. Ultimately, the goal is to build a training system where clear standards, shared evaluation criteria, and regular calibration create reliable data, stronger teamwork, and safer outcomes, because “the difference between average training and world-class training… is consistency.”