The common approach to decision-making has been through the use of analytical models such as 5P, 3P, OODA, and DECIDE. Good decisions result when pilots gather all available information, review it, analyze the options, rate the options, select a course of action, and evaluate that course of action for correctness.

In some situations, there isn’t always time to make decisions based on analytical decision-making skills. A good example is a quarterback whose actions are based upon a highly fluid and changing situation: he intends to execute a plan, but new circumstances dictate decision-making on the fly. This type of decision-making is called automatic decision-making or naturalized decision-making.

17.6.1 Automatic Decision-Making #

In an emergency situation, a pilot might not survive if he or she rigorously applied analytical models to every decision made; there is not enough time to go through all the options. Research into how people actually make decisions has revealed that when pressed for time, experts faced with a task loaded with uncertainty first assess whether the situation strikes them as familiar. Rather than comparing the pros and cons of different approaches, they quickly imagine how one or a few possible courses of action will play out, and take the first workable option they can find. While it may not be the best of all possible choices, it often yields remarkably good results. This holds true for a range of experts from fire fighters to chess players; the expert’s ability hinges on the recognition of patterns and consistencies that clarify options in complex situations.

This is a reflexive type of decision-making anchored in training and experience and is most often used in times of emergencies when there is no time to practice analytical decision-making. Naturalistic or automatic decision-making improves with training and experience.

17.6.2 Operational Pitfalls #

Although more experienced pilots are likely to make more automatic decisions, there are tendencies or operational pitfalls that come with the development of pilot experience. These are classic behavioral traps into which pilots have been known to fall. More experienced pilots, as a rule, try to complete a flight as planned, please passengers, and meet schedules; the desire to meet these goals can have an adverse effect on safety and contribute to an unrealistic assessment of piloting skills. These dangerous tendencies or behavior patterns, which must be identified and eliminated, are shown in Figure 17-12.

17.6.3 Stress Management #

Everyone is stressed to some degree almost all of the time. A certain amount of stress is good since it keeps a person alert and prevents complacency, but effects of stress are cumulative and, if the pilot does not cope with them in an appropriate way, they can eventually add up to an intolerable burden. Performance generally increases with the onset of stress, peaks, and then begins to fall off rapidly as stress levels exceed a person’s ability to cope. There are two categories of stress—acute and chronic—both explained in Chapter 16, Aeromedical Factors. [Figure 17-13] The key to stress management is to stop, think, and analyze before jumping to a conclusion.

There are several techniques to help manage the accumulation of life stresses and prevent stress overload: for example, set aside time for relaxation each day, maintain a program of physical fitness, and learn to manage time more effectively to avoid pressures imposed by getting behind schedule.

17.6.4 Use of Resources #

To make informed decisions during flight operations, a pilot must become aware of the resources found inside and outside the flight deck. Since useful tools and sources of information may not always be readily apparent, learning to recognize these resources is an essential part of ADM training. Resources must not only be identified, but a pilot must also develop the skills to evaluate whether there is time to use a particular resource and the impact its use will have upon the safety of flight.

17.6.5 Internal Resources #

One of the most underutilized resources may be the person in the right seat, even if the passenger has no flying experience. When appropriate, the PIC can ask passengers to assist with certain tasks, such as watching for traffic or reading checklist items, providing information in an irregular situation, confirming the landing gear is down, or listening to logic or lack of logic. The process of a verbal briefing can also help the PIC in the decision-making process. Other valuable internal resources include ingenuity, aviation knowledge, and flying skill. When flying alone, verbal communication is another internal resource: it has been established that verbal communication reinforces an activity, and touching an object while communicating further enhances the probability an activity has been accomplished—for this reason, many solo pilots read the checklist out loud and touch the switch or control at critical items. [Figure 17-14]

It is necessary for a pilot to have a thorough understanding of all the equipment and systems in the aircraft being flown.

Checklists are essential flight deck internal resources, used to verify the aircraft instruments and systems are checked, set, and operating properly, and to ensure proper procedures are performed if there is a system malfunction or inflight emergency. In addition, the pilot’s operating handbook (POH) is required to be carried on board and is essential for accurate flight planning and resolving inflight equipment malfunctions. However, the most valuable resource a pilot has is the ability to manage workload whether alone or with others.

17.6.6 External Resources #

Air traffic controllers and flight service specialists are the best external resources during flight. In order to promote the safe, orderly flow of air traffic around airports and along flight routes, ATC provides pilots with traffic advisories, radar vectors, and assistance in emergency situations. Although it is the PIC’s responsibility to make the flight as safe as possible, a pilot with a problem can request assistance from ATC. [Figure 17-15] The services provided by ATC can not only decrease pilot workload, but also help pilots make informed inflight decisions. The flight service stations (FSS) are air traffic facilities that provide pilot briefing, en route communications, VFR search and rescue services, assistance to lost aircraft and aircraft in emergency situations, relay of ATC clearances, origination of Notices to Airmen (NOTAM), broadcast of aviation weather and National Airspace System (NAS) information, processing of IFR flight plans, and monitoring of navigational aids (NAVAIDs).

Another external resource available to pilots is the VHF Direction Finder (VHF/DF); FAA facilities that provide VHF/DF service are identified in the A/FD. DF equipment has long been used to locate lost aircraft and to guide aircraft to areas of good weather or to airports.

Experience has shown that most emergencies requiring DF assistance involve pilots with little flight experience; pilots are urged to request practice DF guidance and approaches in VFR weather conditions to become familiar with the procedures.