Professional Pilot, October 2018

While industry has advanced checklists such as the DECIDE model for aeronautical decision making on the whole these have not been effectively taught nor are particularly useful on the flightdeck typically being too vague and convoluted to apply to all circumstances As long as humans experience strong emotions such as uncertainty and fear they are incapable of performing a complex cognitive process Conclusion FAA Advisory Circular 120 109A Stall Prevention and Recovery Training recommends implementing startling and surprising situations during pilot training for upset recovery Ground training focused on enhancing a pilots strategy for coping with the unforeseen is essential to effective management of stressful in flight events Differences between surprise and startle raise questions regarding ground based training to prepare flight crews for unexpected events in flight Would a sudden loud noise in the simulator be sufficient to mimic difficulties associated with in flight emergencies Should training scenarios primarily involve unexpectedness Outcomes substantiate recommendations of using an element of surprise in the training of upset recovery and indicate the importance of focusing such training on reframing and sense making abilities so that recovery skills can be made resilient against the effects of surprise In this respect the ICAO recommendation of using variations in the types of scenario times of occurrences and types of occurrence as an alternative to predictable training scenarios seems sensible Flight training should integrate mental skills and emotion management with the requisite stick andrudder skills necessary to successfully perceive process and respond to any unexpected situation Important points to recognize in training and developing strategies for startle and surprise events include the following Expect surprise Knowing to expect 74 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2018 THE DECIDE MODEL FOR AERONAUTICAL DECISION MAKING D Detect that something has changed gather related information E Estimate the severity of the situation and the need to react formulate possible solutions C Choose a desirable outcome based on understanding the situation and consideration of alternatives I Identify actions necessary to achieve the outcome chosen D Do the actions identified to achieve the desired outcome E Evaluate the effects of the actions taken revise plans as necessary surprise and to continually learn new things is more effective than attempting to memorize mechanical manipulation of the knobs Emotion control Training intended to mitigate 2 basic human reactions to surprise flight fight behavior and cognitive paralysis freeze The training goal is to teach pilots to apply a technique that lets them manage their emotions in all unexpected situations where no immediate action is required A technique recently developed and tested by the Netherlands Aerospace Center and KLM encourages pilots to relax to put themselves at a mental or physical distance from the event observe and declare related information while calling for verification and confirm future actions through Threat and Error Management TEM Pilot monitoring Pilot monitoring involves the comparison of environmental cues to a master mental schema which is continuously updated for local variations on the day A framework of SOPs form expectations which are reinforced through repetition This continuously updated expected model of what should happen staying ahead of the airplane is compared by both pilots to actual conditions and disparities are either noticed and addressed noticed and ignored or not noticed Situational awareness Involves a complex and extensive set of individual social and cognitive skills including communicating effectively planning learning and knowledge retrieval vigilance workload assignment and management reviewing and modifying and inquiry Further attention to situational awareness skill sets and to specific monitoring skills would increase the likelihood that trends such as decreasing airspeed would be detected and rectified prior to becoming a startling event Knowledge Pilots armed with a greater understanding of the adverse effects of startle and surprise are more likely motivated to have plans to cope with startling events and also an expectation for impaired performance during startle This expectation should reduce the likelihood for impulsive behaviours following startle Experience Longevity is logically accompanied by exposure to a variety of occurrences the experience gained will result in there being fewer unexpected situations Clearly the effects of unanticipated challenges can adversely affect pilot performance in many ways By deliberately seeking all available information and targeted training potential startles and surprises may be discovered and remedied before they become debilitating unexpected events Don Van Dyke is professor of advanced aerospace topics at Chicoutimi College of Aviation CQFA Montreal He is an 18000 hour TT pilot and instructor with extensive airline business and charter experience on both airplanes and helicopters A former IATA ops director he has served on several ICAO panels He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is a flight operations expert on technical projects under UN administration EVALUATE RESPONSE IMPLEMENT RESPONSE SELECT A RESPONSE COLLECT FACTS IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVES WEIGH IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVES RECOGNIZE NEED IDENTIFY AND DEFINE PROBLEM JUDGEMENT