Human Factors and Pilot Decision Making
Core concepts
Human factors covers physiology (hypoxia, hyperventilation, spatial disorientation, fatigue, dehydration), psychology (stress, workload, situational awareness), and decision making (risk assessment, hazardous attitudes, crew resource management). Understand the hypoxia types (hypoxic, hypemic, stagnant, histotoxic), the symptoms of hyperventilation (often confused with hypoxia), and the sensory illusions in flight (somatogravic, somatogyral, leans).
Traps
- Hypoxia vs hyperventilation: both cause dizziness and tingling; the treatment differs - hypoxia needs oxygen/descent, hyperventilation needs controlled breathing. Questions often swap symptoms.
- Spatial disorientation: trust instruments, not sensations; the leans illusion follows a coordinated turn recovery.
- Hazardous attitudes (anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, resignation) each have an antidote; questions pair attitude with antidote.
- Fatigue impairs judgement before the pilot notices; do not rely on subjective alertness.
Worked example
A pilot feels light-headed and tingly at altitude. Rule of thumb: assume hypoxia first, use oxygen and descend, then reassess; if symptoms persist with normal oxygen, consider hyperventilation and slow the breathing rate.
Study tip
Build a symptom-to-cause-to-action table for the common physiological events; this is the highest-yield revision tool for this domain.