Situational awareness in aviation
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 comprise any given aviation situation) 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. Not only
is it important for a pilot to know the aircraft’s geographical
location, it is also important he or she understand what is
happening. For instance, while flying above Richmond,
Virginia, toward Dulles Airport or Leesburg, the pilot
should know why he or she is being vectored and be able to
anticipate spatial location. A pilot who is simply making turns
without understanding why has added an additional burden
to his or her management in the event of an emergency. To
maintain situational awareness, all of the skills involved in
ADM are used.
Obstacles to Maintaining Situational Awareness
Workload Management
Effective workload management ensures essential operations are accomplished by planning, prioritizing, and sequencing tasks to avoid work overload. 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. In addition, a pilot should listen to ATIS, Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), or Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), if available, and then monitor the tower frequency or Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) to get a good idea of what traffic conditions to expect. Checklists should be performed well in advance so there is time to focus on traffic and ATC instructions. These procedures are especially important prior to entering a highdensity 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.
When a work overload situation exists, a pilot needs to stop, think, slow down, and prioritize. It is important to understand how to decrease workload. For example, in the case of the cabin door that opened in VFR flight, the impact on workload should be insignificant. If the cabin door opens under IFR different conditions, its impact on workload changes. Therefore, 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. This ability depends upon experience, discipline, and training.
