ATPL Human Performance case studies
ATPL Human Performance · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Human Performance is one of the fourteen theoretical knowledge subjects in the EASA ATPL syllabus, and it is also examined in the equivalent national systems that follow the same subject structure. It is not a flying-skills test. It asks whether you understand the human being as a component of the aviation system: how the body copes with altitude, pressure change, acceleration, heat and cold; how the senses can mislead a pilot; how memory, attention and workload shape what a pilot notices; how fatigue, sleep loss and body clock disruption degrade performance; how stress, error and team communication contribute to accidents. The subject is popular with candidates because it is largely descriptive and needs little mathematics, but it punishes superficial reading: the examiner tests distinctions, such as the difference between a symptom and a cause, or between two visually similar illusions. The ATPL Human Performance case studies are 5 cases and about 3,336 words.
1Fitness to Fly with a Cold and a Sedating Antihistamine
Captain M is 42, a non-smoker, on day 2 of a 4-day trip. She has a mild upper respiratory infection: nasal congestion, sore throat and a feeling of 'fullness' in her ears.
709 words, about 4 min2Black-Hole Approach at a Coastal Runway
At 23:40 local time, a twin-turboprop is on a visual approach to Runway 27 at a coastal airport. The runway has no VASI or PAPI on this side, the approach lighting ends 60 m before the threshold, and the terrain beyond the runway rises gradually.
659 words, about 3 min3Checklist Interruption During a Turnaround
During a 45-minute turnaround at a busy airport, the captain is running the before-start checklist from memory while the first officer is outside doing a walkaround. A ramp agent interrupts to ask about a missing baggage tag.
644 words, about 3 min4Chronic Sleep Restriction on a Transmeridian Night Flight
A cargo airline operates a westbound night flight from Hong Kong (UTC+8) to Frankfurt (UTC+1) with a two-pilot crew. The captain, 55, has been on late shifts for 5 days, sleeping from 03:00 to 09:30 local.
676 words, about 3 min5Unstable Approach with an Authoritarian Captain
A Boeing 737-800 is on approach to Runway 31 at a mountain airport. Weather: wind 310°/22 kt gusting 35, visibility 5 km in rain, broken cloud at 1,200 ft AGL.
648 words, about 3 min