Applying Human Factors Principles

1
Applying Human Factors Principles

• Chapter 10
• Section B
• Aeronautical Decision Making

2
Risk Elements

• Pilot fitness, competency, currency, experience
• Aircraft performance, limits, equipment,
  airworthiness
• Environment wx., airport conditions, ATC svcs.
• Operation purpose of flight
• Situation situational awareness of all above

3
Decision-making Process

• D detect
• E estimate
• C choose
• I identify
• D do
• E evaluate

4
Accidents Incidents

• Accident
• An occurrence in which any person on board the
  aircraft suffers death or serious injury, or in
  which the aircraft receives substantial damage
• Incident
• An occurrence other than an accident which
  affects the safety of operations

5
NTSB

• National Transportation Safety Board
• Investigates every U. S. civil aviation accident
• Issues safety recommendations
• Maintains database
• Conducts research on safety issues
• www.ntsb.gov

6
Poor Judgment Chain

• aka error chain
• Accidents and incidents rarely, if ever, are the
  result of a single cause
• Usually a series of errors occurs which lead to
  the accident or incident
• Break one link in the chain and sequence of
  events would be stopped

7
Risk

• Flight activities where accidents are most likely
  to occur

8
When do aviation accidents happen?
57.2 of GA accidents occur during 6 of flight
time Takeoff/initial climb, Approach, Landing
9
PIC Responsibility

• Read top half of page 10-28
• Judgment
• Learned
• From your mistakes
• From other experiences
• From the experiences of others
• Ability to exercise good judgment affected by
• Stressors

10
Stressors

• Three categories
• Physical stress
• Physiological stress
• Psychological stress
• Personal checklist

11
Stress
12
Improving Judgment

• Anticipate decisions
• Train and practice in critical areas
• Match individual skills with the job
• Standardize whenever possible
• Maintain positive attitudes
• Practice effective communications
• Be deliberate in decision making

13
Hazardous Attitudes
14
Communication

• Sending
• Listening
• Feedback
• Good ATC radio procedures help

15
Communication

• When the rear-seat pilot of a dual-piloted T-33
  aircraft attempted to adjust his position, he
  inadvertently deployed the life raft in the seat
  bucket survival kit. As the raft inflated, it
  pushed the stick forward, which caused the
  aircraft to pitch nose down. The front seat
  pilot attempted to correct the dive, but met
  resistance when he pulled the stick back.

16
Communication, continued

• Meanwhile, the back seater found and deployed
  the raft deflation tool. The front seater,
  trying to solve the control problem, heard an
  explosion as the cockpit filled with talcum
  powder from inside the raft, which looked very
  much like smoke. He identified the problem as an
  engine failure, closed the throttle and secured
  the engine.

17
Communication, continued

• As the haze cleared in the back, the back seater
  noticed the apparent engine flameout and ejected.
  The front seater then dead-sticked the aircraft
  into a field. Throughout this entire sequence,
  not a word was spoken.

18
Barriers to Sending

• Poor choice of words
• Silence
• Assumptions
• Tone
• Over load
• Volume

19
Barriers to Listening

• Boredom
• Complacency
• Distractions
• Impatience
• Anger

20
Feedback

• Ask for clarification until you understand
• Acknowledge
• Restate
• Confirm
• Observe
• Question
• Disagree
• Answer

21
Double Check When You Hear . . .

• Probably
• Possibly
• I think so
• I hope so
• Maybe
• Should

22
Internal Barriers to Communication

• Rank
• Attitude
• Choice of words
• Misinterpretation
• Hearback
• Hear what you want to hear or are expecting
• Mixing/switching numbers 200-220, 120,210

23
External Barriers to Communications

• High noise
• Uncomfortable temperatures
• High workload
• Uncertain of policies/procedures
• Unable to see the other person

24
Resources

• Internal in the cockpit during flight
• External outside of the cockpit during flight

25
Workload Management

• Plan
• Prepare
• Prioritize

26
Overload
27
Compare
28
Situational Awareness

• An accurate perception of the operational and
  environmental factors which affect the aircraft,
  pilot, and passengers during a specific period of
  time.
• Fixating on one thing
• Complacency

29
ADM Works!

• United Flight 232
• Captain Al Haynes
• We had 103 Years of flying experience in that
  cockpit . . . but not one minute of that 103
  years had been spent operating an airplane the
  way we were trying to fly it. If we had not
  worked together, with everybody coming up with
  ideas and discussing what we should do next and
  how we were going to do it, I do not think we
  would have made it to Sioux City.