Human Factors, Aeromedical Factors, and Aeronautical Decision Making
Recognize the physiology, then the attitude
Aeromedical questions reward pattern recognition. Hypoxia - euphoria, tingling, poor judgment, cyanosis - is treated with oxygen and descent. Hyperventilation mimics hypoxia but responds to slowing the breathing rate. Carbon monoxide poisoning presents as headache and confusion from the cabin heater. Spatial disorientation includes the leans, Coriolis illusion, somatogravic illusion (acceleration feels like a climb), and black-hole approach.
Oxygen rules: from 12,500 to 14,000 ft MSL the required crew must use oxygen after 30 minutes; above 14,000 ft, continuously; above 15,000 ft, passengers must be provided oxygen. Alcohol: 8 hours bottle-to-throttle and below 0.04%. Scuba diving requires 12 hours after a shallow dive and 24 hours after a dive requiring a controlled ascent.
Decision-making frameworks appear as vocabulary: IMSAFE, PAVE, DECIDE, and the 3P model. The five hazardous attitudes - anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, resignation - each have an antidote ("follow the rules," "slow down," "it could happen to me," "taking chances is foolish," "I'm not helpless").
Trap: choosing hyperventilation treatment for a hypoxic patient, or matching the wrong antidote to the attitude.
Worked example: A pilot pushes on into worsening weather because "it never gets as bad as forecast." That is invulnerability; the antidote is "it could happen to me."