The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected aviation, leading to reduced passenger services and staffing in the industry. Flight students experienced challenges due to uncertain business recovery. A survey of four (4) prominent flight schools in the U.S. and China revealed psychological struggles. The study examined how the pandemic influenced flight students' perception of psychological impact, human factors, and safety culture across four schools. Data analysis involved Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman Correlation Coefficients, and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney t-test. Results indicated significant pandemic-induced psychological stress among flight students, including heightened stress, uncertainty, worry, frustration, and loneliness. Notably, a comparison between U.S. and Chinese respondents highlighted that self-sponsored U.S. students experienced more pronounced psychological impact than airline-sponsored peers from China.