In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr Andrea Ehmke, we dive deeper into the relationship between emotional awareness, human performance, and aviation safety.

Drawing from her research in aviation psychology and human factors, Dr Ehmke explores how emotion, self-awareness, stress, confidence, and psychological safety influence pilot decision-making and performance in high-pressure environments. The discussion touches on topics such as gut feel, leadership, fear of losing medicals, pilot culture, emotional suppression, and the importance of creating psychologically safe environments within aviation.

We also explore the role of confidence versus arrogance, the impact of energy and communication in the cockpit, and whether aviation focuses too heavily on procedures and technology while overlooking the human element behind the controls.

A fascinating and thought-provoking conversation on what it truly means to understand the human behind the pilot seat.

🎙 The Pilot Podcast – Aviation. Unfiltered.

n this episode, we sit down with Dr. Andrea Emhke a Brigadier General in the South African Air Force, qualified air traffic controller, PhD specialist in industrial psychology and is a Aviation Human Factors and Neurological Ergonomic Specialist.

We explore a topic aviation doesn’t always address directly, the psychology of pilots. From emotional awareness and internal state to situational awareness and human error, this conversation challenges traditional thinking around CRM and highlights the importance of understanding the human behind the controls.

Drawing from both operational experience and academic research, Dr. Emhke shares insights into how self-awareness and emotional regulation may influence performance in high-pressure environments and why aviation may need to evolve how it approaches human factors.

Michael is an Aviation Historian, Journalist and Boeing 737 writing for various websites and publications. In this episode of the pilot podcast Michael dives into the South African Airforce''s formative years and their extensive involvement in WW2 From operations in Madagascar to the first photographs of Auschwitz, Michael unpacks how these extraordinary airman punched way above their weight and help to turn the tide of one the worlds greatest conflicts. Coming up next on the Pilot Podcast. Aviation. Unfiltered.