LAUSR

Bandura’s self-efficacy theory has been extensively studied in the fields of education, sports, military science, commerce and so forth. The primary aim of this study is to explore the relationship between self-efficacy, work engagement, flight experience, and human error among pilots during in-flight missions. The Perceived Professional Self-Efficacy Scale (PPSEC), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and the Safety Operation Behavior Scale (SOBS) were used to evaluate one hundred and forty-three airline pilots’ self-efficacy, work engagement, and human error. Correlation analysis indicated that self-efficacy, work engagement, and human error were significantly correlated with each other. A causal steps regression and bootstrap analysis showed that airline pilots’ self-efficacy significantly influenced their human error in aviation. Meanwhile, work engagement also mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and human error. Multiple group regression analysis showed that flight experience moderated the association between pilots’ self-efficacy and human error. Implications for further research and instructions for how to improve aviation safety are discussed.