GL03- Introduction to human factors

Before landing briefing

15-20 miles before: Airport info and weather conditions, active runway, any terrain or obstacles, airport elevation and pattern altitude, and traffic pattern entry.

Situational awareness - wire strike avoidance

5 things to do to avoid such an accident: Obtain special training, review education materials, maintain 2k ft distance from any tower, maintain over 1k above ground level, maintain appropriate glide path on final approach to landing, and be alert for terrain and obstacles when getting airport information prior to your flight.

Aeronautical decision making

A systematic approach to the mental process used by pilots to consistently determine the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances.

Plan category:

Airport conditions, runway conditions, terrain and airspace, mission, and weather.

Plane category:

Airworthiness: if it's operationally, mechanically, and legally airworthy, Performance: plane's ability to meet required performance criteria based on conditions, Configuration: Whether the plane is properly equipped for flight and whether elements such as power settings and airspeed create risk

Alcohol while flying

As little as 1oz of alcohol can diminish your reflexes. Blood alcohol must be below .04 percent, and must fly 8 hours after consuming alcohol.

Programming category:

Avionics airworthiness: any currency of databases or malfunctions are risk factors, Avionics operation: Your proficiency in the airplane's avionics, Avionics configuration: Whether you configure the avionics properly for the type of mission and phase of flight

Drugs while flying

Before flying with any drug: Do a self assessment What condition am I treating? What are the side effects? Consult with an aviation medical examiner about any side effects of drugs. Verify that FAA approves of drug

Planning a flight:

Determining an appropriate altitude and location based on: Maneuver requirements, Terrain and obstacles, Weather/Wind conditions, Airspace, and Noise abatement. Then when to determine the maneuver procedure and steps, reference POH to get appropriate airspeed, power settings, and flap settings.

Do-list and flow patterns

Do-list, when there is time, and each every item in an order. The flow pattern is used when the order of the items isn't critical, and is sort of guiding you through the cockpit.

Effects of atmospheric pressure

Ear pain results from a difference in pressure, sinus pain, toothaches, abdominal pain, and decompression sickness. Descend gradually to mitigate these effects. Decompression sickness comes from flying after scuba diving and is very serious.

Workload management

Ensures that essential operations are accomplished by planning, prioritizing, and sequencing tasks. Should have: Effective checklist use Planning and prioritization(before high workload) managing equipment workload

Passenger category:

Experience: how much experience in small airplanes, flexibility: pressure to arrive or depart at certain time, fitness: if their health is not in the best shape

Risk factor categories

Five categories: Pilot, passengers, plane, programming, and plan.

Situaltional awareness(maneuvers and procedures)

Identify and stay within a designated area, be aware of local weather and wind, know your aircraft procedures, limitations, and systems, Use collision avoidance procedures(use scanning procedures)

Resource use

It should have: Internal resources: Your own skills, manuals, or other pilots or instructors. External resources: ATC, maintenance techniques, and flight service, and knowing how to find the necessary information.

Workload management-Equipment operating levels

Level 1: Control the plane manually, use miniumum equipment Level 2: Use autopilot to help manage workload, but still manually fly the plane. Level 3: Fly primarily on autopilot, use tools to help manage your workload to maintain a certain level of situational awareness

SRM categories:

PIC responsibility: You are responsible for safety, Effective Communication, Resource use, workload management: get all items done by prioritizing and sequencing tasks, situational awareness: complete picture of total flight operation.

Checklist classifications

POH: Normal checklists for normal aircraft operations. Abnormal checklists: to manage situations that may compromise flight safety. Emergency checklists: To manage situations immediately.

Passenger briefing(SAFETY)

Seatbelts, Air vents, Fire extinguisher, Egress and Emergency(Doors and windows), Traffic and talking(ask passengers to avoid conversations, point out traffic), ask for questions

Situational awareness

Should have: Obstacles to maintaining situational awareness, Actions to prevent controlled flight into terrain, such as accident(CFIT), and standard operating procedures.

In the pilot category:

Training: the training you've received and what situations you're trained to handle, experience: your pilot experience, and health: stress level, and fatigue.

PIC responsibility

Ultimately responsible for the planning, organization, and integration of actions by the crew. If a disagreement in the aircraft exists, the PIC should take the most conservative action until more information is available. During situations with high workload, the PIC should consider delegating the flying to the CP in order to apply maximum attention to the situation at hand. Should have: Self assessment, Crew Coordination, Continue your aviation education

Takeoff briefing

Wind direction and velocity, runway length, takeoff distance, initial altitude, initial altitude, takeoff and climb speeds, review any unique departure procedures, brief emergency plan if there's an engine failure after takeoff(and discuss gliding speeds), an pilot and co-pilot responsibilities

Human factors training

addresses the fact that all aviation accidents are from people, accidents usually result from a chain of events, increases safety by reducing human error, interactions and emotions of humans affect the aviation environment.

Single pilot recource management(SRM skills)

the art of managing all resources, on board and outside sources that are both available to a single pilot before and during flight to ensure successful outcome.

Effective communication

the exchange of information so there is common understanding by all participants Should have: Radio techniques to avoid errors Cockpit/Cabin communication Communication barriers