Detection of risks of distance education models and methods in civil aviation: An application with AHP at Aviation University

Civil Aviation education is of great importance in terms of being the basis for safety, security and research and development studies, and therefore sustainable aviation. It is known that distance education models and methods, which are used within certain limits in certain training areas in Civil Aviation, have risks that may affect safety and security in aviation in the long term. This thesis aims to identify the risks associated with distance education in aviation training based on the data obtained regarding the attitudes of students at the Azerbaijan Aviation Academy towards distance learning. Additionally, the prioritization of these risks will be determined in accordance with the opinions of instructors regarding the degrees of importance of the risks associated with distance education. As a result, data obtained from interviews with instructors were subjected to Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis to conduct a risk prioritization study. The analysis revealed that the most significant risk criterion is the lack of interaction, and under this criterion, the most crucial sub-criterion is the weakening of communication and teamwork skills. The analysis of the data obtained from a survey conducted with students revealed the risks of ineffectiveness, lack of motivation, and skill deficiency in distance education. Although the research framework is common, since questions were sent to different sample groups with different methods (via survey and interview questions), no definitive comparisons were made, and this study differs from other studies through method differences.