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Situation Situation AwarenessAwareness

for CFIsfor CFIsDonna Forsyth Wilt, Ph.D.

Florida Institute of Technology

Presented atCFI Workshop

FAA Safety Center, Lakeland, FL May 12, 2001

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IntroductionIntroduction

Dual flight training accidents are almost always avoidable:– If they had only realized …– How could they not have known …– Why didn’t they check …– They should have seen it coming

In retrospect, it is easy to say the CFI didn’t have the big picture, didn’t have situation awareness

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“Fool! …Give me those controls! … You’re just dang lucky both barn doors were open!”

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OverviewOverview

Just what is situation awareness?

How do you realize you’ve lost it?

What can we do as CFIs to improve our own SA and also to teach our students to have good SA?

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What is Situation Awareness?What is Situation Awareness?

Situation Awareness is getting and retaining the big picture

– Accurately perceiving the state of the equipment, aircraft, and environment

– Accurately interpreting, understanding, and comprehending the situation

– Accurately projecting the current situation into the near future

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Good Outcomes need Good SA Good Outcomes need Good SA

Loss of SA does not always cause accidents, … but the accidents that do result are almost always devastating.

Mr Magoo syndrome

Good decisions are based on accurate information and correct understanding of what is happening

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Pilots with Good SA Pilots with Good SA

Know what is going on around them at all time

Accurately interpret the instruments and understand what the aircraft is doing and what it will be doing in the near future

Know where the aircraft is and where the aircraft will be in the near future

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CFIs with Good SACFIs with Good SA

Have the same good SA as a pilot

PLUS

Know what the student should be doing

Know what the student is doing,

Understand the effects of what the student is doing

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Pilots Pilots withoutwithout Good SA Good SA

Only think they know what is going on

Once pilots have an incorrect picture,

– They force perceptions to fit into their understanding of reality

– They make decisions based on a false reality

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Examples of Recognizing Examples of Recognizing the Loss of SAthe Loss of SA

1. What are your experiences as a pilot/CFI in losing situation awareness?

2. How was SA lost?

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Recognizing the Lack of SARecognizing the Lack of SA

The lack of SA is insidious– Not obvious like a mechanical problem– There is no SA indicator in the cockpit– There are no audio alarms, no warning lights

But there are warning signs! Recognize the warning signs that SA has

been lost

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3 Warning Signs for 3 Warning Signs for Loss of SALoss of SA

Ambiguity

Fixation on a Task

Gut Feeling

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AmbiguityAmbiguity Inability to resolve discrepancies between 2

sources Best indicator of loss of SA Examples

– CFI & student disagree on what ATC said – Landmarks don’t match up right– CDI needles moving in the wrong direction– Don’t hear expected calls– Traffic isn’t where ATC said it was

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Fixation on a TaskFixation on a Task

Pilots can easily fixate on a task

CFIs frequently fixate on the teaching task

– Forget to put the gear down or flaps up

– Forget to switch tanks/ run out of fuel

– Don’t watch for traffic

– Miss radio calls

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Gut FeelingGut Feeling

The feeling that something isn't right

Pilot’s experience is providing a warning

Good indicator that something is wrong

Easy to ignore because– no specific course of action– similar feelings in the past have not led to

accidents

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Examples of Recognizing Examples of Recognizing the Loss of SAthe Loss of SA

1. What are your experiences as a pilot/CFI in losing situation awareness?

2. How was SA lost?

3. What were the warning signs?

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Regaining SARegaining SA

Recognizing the loss of SA is the 1st step to regaining it

‘Listen’ for the signs of lost SA

If SA is lost:– Climb– Evaluate the situation– Regroup & determine a safe course of actions

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To Regain SATo Regain SA

Address & resolve ambiguities Recognize when fixation is occurring

– Once CFIs realize they’re fixating, they can expand their attention to keep the big picture

Acknowledge & identify the cause of the bad feeling in your gut

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Effect of Experience & Effect of Experience & Training on SATraining on SA

Experience and Training have a significant effect on SA– The more tasks are handled automatically,

the more attention resources are available to understand everything that’s happening

Events are matched to prior experiences in memory to quickly make sense of information

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Training to Improve SATraining to Improve SA

When students become disoriented– This is a learning opportunity– Let them regain SA on their own

Induce a loss of SA in student– Create a nav conflict or give ambiguous

instructions Teach students to climb to a safe altitude and

sort it out – Point out the indicators that SA is lost

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Training to Improve SATraining to Improve SA

Debrief the student on – How SA was lost – When they realized they had lost SA– When they regained it

Discuss the clues that were evident during the time they didn’t have SA

Discuss how to identify such a loss in the future

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Examples of Recognizing Examples of Recognizing the Loss of SAthe Loss of SA

1. What are your experiences as a pilot/CFI in losing situation awareness?

2. How was SA lost?

3. What warning signs were there?

4. How was SA regained?

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ConclusionConclusion

We train how to handle mechanical emergencies– But most accidents are pilot error often based

on poor decisions with inadequate SA

We should also train how to recognize the loss of situation awareness.

CFIs also need have to recognize the loss of situation awareness while teaching

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In ClosingIn Closing

Don’t be a Mr. MagooRemember the Warning Signs for loss of

SA– Ambiguity, Fixation on Task, Gut Feeling

When they occur: – Climb, Evaluate, Regroup

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CreditsCredits

Eric N. Wickfield, April 24-26, 2001– “Losing Situational Awareness: Indications of

that Loss and Avoiding the Controlled-flight-into-terrain Accident”

– Flight Safety Foundation & NBAA 46th annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, Orlando, FL