Pilot Decision Making

1. Pilot Decision Making

2. The Goal • Help you– the Pilot– make better decisions! • Understand the decision making cycle • Realize the human factors • Counteract our hazardous attitudes • Avoid complacency • The management of threats and errors

3. The Reason Human factors are the primary cause in 80% of all accidents/incidents. • Plays a minor role in the other 20%.

4. Bad Decisions Definition: • An action or decision that, if not caught or corrected, could contribute to an accident/incident. • Inaction or indecision is included in the definition.

5. Decision Making Cycle Gather Information Evaluate Process Information Act on Decision Prioritize Responses Make Decision

6. Human Factors To make good decisions and exercise good judgment, a pilot requires the following: 1. Knowledge 2. Awareness 3. Attitude 4. Discipline

7. Human Factors Knowledge • Some is traditionally learned – in the classroom • Some has to be developed – with experience • Is necessary to make good decisions Avoid the “error trap” • Decisions made on assumptions or bad information

8. Human Factors Attitude • It is a state of mind • Our attitude should be: • to minimize risks • decide if the risks are now at an acceptable level Must be “safety comes first”

9. Human Factors Awareness • Now awareness • Future awareness • Vigilance The other side of Awareness • The situation you are put in • The pressure that the culture puts on you

10. Human Factors Discipline • Not easily taught, it is an attitude • Knowledge, awareness, attitude not of much use without DISCIPLINE

11. Question… Do we sometime try too hard to get the job done?

12. Question… Are we overlooking the need for obvious safety measures?

13. Hazardous Attitudes Macho “Hold my beer, watch this!” Antidote: Risk taking is a foolish exposure to danger

14. Hazardous Attitudes Impulsiveness “Do something quickly, anything!” Antidote: Not so fast, think first!

15. Hazardous Attitudes Invulnerability “It won’t happen to me!” Antidote: Murphy says it will, one day, happen to you.

16. Hazardous Attitudes Resignation “I can’t change the way things are done!” Antidote: You can make a difference!

17. Hazardous Attitudes Anti-Authority You can’t tell me what to do! Antidote: Rules are an operational safety net.

18. Hazardous Attitudes Driven “But I just have to …” Antidote: Is it worth it?

19. Complacency “A feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger or defect.” For a pilot, complacency could exist if: • The same or similar job had been successfully completed many times before.

20. Did you know? Loss of Control (LOC) • Top cause of GA accident fatalities in Canada (2014-2016) and in the USA • Can happen anywhere and in any phase of flight • Most common in the circuit

21. Contributing factors for LOC may include: • Failure to recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and execute corrective action • Intentional failure to comply with regulations • Failure to maintain airspeed • Failure to follow procedure • Pilot inexperience and proficiency • Use of prohibited or over-the-counter drugs, illegal drugs, or alcohol

22. PDM Principals applied to LOC factors Failure to • recognize an aerodynamic stall or spin and execute corrective action • Awareness, Complacency • comply with regulations • Discipline, Macho, Anti-Authority • maintain airspeed • Awareness, Impulsivity, Resignation • follow procedure • Knowledge, Discipline, Anti-Authority

23. PDM Principals applied to LOC factors Pilot inexperience or lack of proficiency • Awareness, Invulnerability Use of prohibited or over-the-counter drugs, illegal drugs, or alcohol • Knowledge, Discipline, Invulnerability

24. Threat and Error Management • Threat and error management (TEM): • Assumes that pilots will naturally make mistakes and encounter risky situations during flight operations. • Rather than avoid, primary focus is: • To teach pilots to manage these issues so they do not impair safety. • To maintain safety margins by training pilot to detect and respond to events that are likely to cause damage (threats) as well as mistakes that are most likely to be made (errors) during flight operations. • Provide a context for the use of PDM principals

25. Threats Threats are external factors or errs that are outside the normal influence of flight crews. These increase the complexity of normal operations because they can occur unexpectedly; pilots may not be able to plan and fully investigate the cause of a threat if it occurs suddenly during the flight. Examples: weather, terrain, aircraft malfunctions, unexpected instructions from ATC, unexpected traffic conflicts

26. Errors Errors are caused by human actions or inaction that increase the likelihood of an adverse event. These errors often come from incorrect or incomplete pilot judgment or pilot decision making. An error can, with careful attention, be quickly identified and pilots can find prompt solutions to the error. The impact of an error can, therefore, be quickly reduced if properly managed.

27. Errors (cont’) Examples: Mistakes or inadequacy of attention towards a task at hand, violation of correct procedures (operation of the aircraft systems or managing the aircraft flight path) in accordance with ATC instructions or other published mandatory procedures

28. Undesired Aircraft States • Aircraft configurations or circumstances that are caused either by human error or by external factors. The management of unintended states is vital since they can result in serious aircraft accidents. For example, Loss of Control often starts with allowing the airspeed to decay to dangerously low level. • Recognizing that an aircraft is trending toward an undesired state is a critical factor in avoiding accidents

29. So What? • Hazardous Attitudes • Identify within yourself • Apply antidote • Proactively look for threats • Address them with conscious decision • You are human so you will make errors • Strive for early recognition and response to errors • React to Undesired Aircraft States • This is start of many accident causal chains…

30. Conclusion • Beware of Complacency • Distractions • Stay focused • Avoid Fatigue • Lower your stress level

31. Pilot Decision Making Ask yourself before your next flight • “Do I have any hazardous attitudes today?” • “ What are the threats to this flight?” Safe Flight is not an Accident!