Situational awareness is the accurate perception and understanding of all the factors and conditions within the five fundamental risk elements (flight, pilot, aircraft, environment, and type of operation) that affect safety before, during, and after the flight. Monitoring radio communications for traffic, weather discussion, and ATC communication can enhance situational awareness by helping the pilot develop a mental picture of what is happening.
Maintaining situational awareness requires an understanding of the relative significance of all flight related factors and their future impact on the flight. When a pilot understands what is going on and has an overview of the total operation, he or she is not fixated on one perceived significant factor. To maintain situational awareness, all of the skills involved in ADM are used.
17.7.1 Obstacles to Maintaining Situational Awareness #
Fatigue, stress, and work overload can cause a pilot to fixate on a single perceived important item and reduce overall situational awareness of the flight. A contributing factor in many accidents is a distraction that diverts the pilot’s attention from monitoring the instruments or scanning outside the aircraft. Many flight deck distractions begin as a minor problem, such as a gauge that is not reading correctly, but result in accidents as the pilot diverts attention to the perceived problem and neglects to properly control the aircraft.
17.7.2 Workload Management #
Effective workload management ensures essential operations are accomplished by planning, prioritizing, and sequencing tasks to avoid work overload. [Figure 17-16] As experience is gained, a pilot learns to recognize future workload requirements and can prepare for high workload periods during times of low workload. Reviewing the appropriate chart and setting radio frequencies well in advance of when they are needed helps reduce workload as the flight nears the airport. Checklists should be performed well in advance so there is time to focus on traffic and ATC instructions, especially prior to entering a high-density traffic area such as Class B airspace.
Recognizing a work overload situation is also an important component of managing workload. The first effect of high workload is that the pilot may be working harder but accomplishing less. As workload increases, attention cannot be devoted to several tasks at one time, and the pilot may begin to focus on one item. When a pilot becomes task saturated, there is no awareness of input from various sources, so decisions may be made on incomplete information and the possibility of error increases. [Figure 17-17]
When a work overload situation exists, a pilot needs to stop, think, slow down, and prioritize. Placing a situation in the proper perspective, remaining calm, and thinking rationally are key elements in reducing stress and increasing the capacity to fly safely.
17.7.3 Managing Risks #
The ability to manage risk begins with preparation. Some things a pilot can do to manage overall risk include: assess the flight’s risk based upon experience and use some form of risk assessment (for example, if the weather is marginal and the pilot has low IMC training, it is probably a good idea to cancel the flight); brief passengers using the SAFETY list (Seat belts/shoulder harness/seat position; Air vents and environmental controls; Fire extinguisher; Exit doors and emergency evacuation plan; Traffic and Talking (“sterile flight deck”); Your questions); use a sterile flight deck (one that is completely silent with no nonessential communication) from departure to the first intermediate altitude and during arrival/approach; keep the passengers informed during times when the workload is low; and consider using a passenger in the right seat for simple tasks such as holding the chart.
