Recent studies have shown that pilot error contributes to two-thirds

Question

Recent studies have shown that pilot error contributes to two-thirds of all crashes in commercial airlines. To address this problem, the airline industry has upgraded its training programs by increasing the hours of classroom instruction and emphasizing communication skills in the cockpit. Yet, it is unrealistic to expect such measures to compensate for pilot's lack of actual flying time. Therefore the airline industry should rethink its training approach to reduce commercial flight crashes.

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument depends?

A) Well-designed training programs can eliminate commercial flight crashes.
B) Classroom instruction and communication skills training are not relevant for commercial flight pilots.
C) The number of airline crashes will decrease if pilot training programs focus on increasing actual flying time.
D) Lack of actual flying time is an important contributor to pilot error in commercial plane crashes.
E) Recent studies about the causes of commercial airline crashes are accurate.

Source:Crackverbal

broall · Answer

The argument said that pilot error is the main reason to crashes in commercial airlines. Moreover, the argument mentioned that the trainings help nothing in pilot's lack of actual flying time. Hence, there is a missing link here: the pilot error and the lack of actual flying time. Choice D conveys this missing link well.

Choice C is wrong since this choice doesn't fill the missing link. It just restates the conclusion.

GMATNinja · Answer

As suggested by  broall , choice (C) is simply an inference. The author believes the training programs are flawed because they do not compensate for pilot's lack of actual flying time. From this, we can INFER that the author would believe, as stated in choice (C), that "the number of airline crashes will decrease if pilot training programs focus on increasing actual flying time." This statement is a RESULT of the author's argument. It is not an ASSUMPTION on which that argument depends.

The author doesn't believe that the training programs will reduce commercial flight crashes. Why not? Because the programs do not compensate for pilot's lack of actual flying time. But what if commercial flight crashes have nothing to do with a pilot's actual flying time? What if all or most of the crashes are caused by issues that can be effectively addressed with classroom instruction or lessons on communication skills in the cockpit? If that were the case, the training programs would not NEED to address pilot's lack of actual flying time. Thus, the training programs WOULD likely reduce crashes, and the author's conclusion would be questionable.

Choice (D) is the best answer.

AkshdeepS · Answer

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument depends?

A Training programs can eliminate pilot errors.   (If this is true than conclusion is invalid) 
 
B Commercial pilots routinely undergo additional training throughout their careers.   (Which trainings ? a big question) 
 
C The number of all airline crashes will decrease if pilot training programs focus on increasing actual flying time.   (We are not concerned about all airlines. Also, we don't know whether increase in actual flying time can help in reducing "all airlines crashes")

D Lack of actual flying time is an important contributor to pilot error in commercial plane crashes.

E Communication skills are not important to pilot training programs.   Irrelevant

VerbalBot · Answer

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Recent studies have shown that pilot error contributes to two-thirds

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Recent studies have shown that pilot error contributes to two-thirds

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