Overview

• On May 28, Fielder appeared on CNN to criticize the FAA’s slide-based Crew Resource Management courses as “dumb” for lacking emotional impact.
• He argued that presentation-driven training fails to address cockpit hierarchy and co-pilot reluctance, factors he links to aviation accidents.
• In the season 2 finale, Fielder piloted a Boeing 737 himself after two years of training to demonstrate the value of open co-pilot communication.
• The show used staged simulations and meta-comedy to reveal how deference and self-censorship under authority can undermine flight safety.
• His public challenge to FAA methods has prompted experts to reconsider whether current training programs adequately integrate human factors.