In February 2021, Dr. Levi Breeding was facing a new career that he had always hoped for, but never imagined. He joined the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Human Factors Research Specialist in Cabin Safety at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City. Balancing a burgeoning career with the demands of earning a doctoral degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Levi felt adrift in a sea of new challenges.
For two decades, Levi had meticulously crafted a career in the aviation industry, preparing for a future he imagined would take another fifteen years to unfold. Serving at the FAA was a dream he had harbored since his early days as a flight attendant, but achieving it so soon was both exhilarating and overwhelming.
From the start of his career, Levi embraced each promotion not for prestige, but for the potential to enhance his skills as a flight attendant. Moving from the Inflight department to Corporate Safety, his mindset broadened as did his perspective on aviation safety. His focus quickly shifted to the critical need for a safe working environment across the entire operation versus just one department. Later, as a researcher at CAMI, his focus shifted back to the cabin environment; however, in a broader domain that encompassed not only crewmembers but the flying public as well.
On his first assignment as a new researcher, Levi faced a choice: sift through hours of evacuation videos to assess injury risks or dive into the expansive world of extended reality (XR). The allure of XR, encompassing virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and augmented reality (AR), was irresistible. It promised a new frontier in safety training – a safe, immersive space where flight attendants could practice responses to hazardous situations. It also has the potential to revolutionize the way CAMI social scientists research aircraft evacuations.
His own harrowing experience during a violently rejected takeoff at LaGuardia–where a near miss with another aircraft left his coworker rattled–underscored the necessity of better preparations. In that moment of chaos, despite training, he had witnessed how an unexpected event like this could paralyze even the most seasoned professional. Over the next three years, Levi immersed himself in the XR world. He collaborated with pioneering minds in the field, exploring how XR could revolutionize flight attendant training.
Reflecting on this, Levi began to see XR as a potential solution. If flight attendants could experience and rehearse dangerous scenarios in a controlled XR environment, they could potentially respond more effectively in real-life emergencies. He led a team of researchers and experts, focusing on understanding how XR could enhance knowledge and skill transfer compared to traditional methods; the results were promising. This first-of-its-kind research study led to a rewarding partnership with an external organization, and those findings were published in the U.S. Department of Transportation Library.
This research inspired him to focus his dissertation on understanding flight attendants’ perceptions of XR training. The results revealed a more favorable outlook than he expected, which kick-started several conversations with various organizations across the globe. Based on these discussions and his research in the domain, a new working group was formed–two years ahead of schedule–at the International Civil Aviation Organization, where Levi serves as a subject matter expert (SME) on writing worldwide guidance for incorporating XR into cabin crew learning.
Levi recently joined the FAA Academy, an institution that would challenge his worldview once again. Levi’s professional goal is becoming clearer: to train mission-ready employees. With a firm belief in the transformative power of emerging technologies, Levi envisions a future where XR and other technological advancements such as XR and artificial intelligence will continue to enhance aviation safety and training.
Looking to the horizon, Levi remains committed to his goal and mission. The journey is far from complete, but with every step forward, he moves closer to a vision of the safest, most prepared aviation workforce in the world.
