ATPL Human Factors (CAA) study plan

Explain the oxygen cascade from ambient air to tissue mitochondria and state the partial pressure at each stage

Describe hypoxia types (hypoxic, hypaemic, stagnant, histotoxic) and match each to a concrete aviation scenario

Explain time of useful consciousness at cabin altitudes of 25000 ft and 40000 ft and the effect of rapid decompression

List the signs of hyperventilation and state how to differentiate them from hypoxia in flight

Describe the effects of barometric pressure change on the middle ear, sinuses and gut, and state the correct equalisation manoeuvres

Explain decompression sickness mechanisms and the difference between type I and type II symptoms

Explain the physiology of spatial disorientation at the level of the vestibular system (semicircular canals and otolith organs)

Outline the effects of acceleration (+Gz) on vision and consciousness and list the countermeasures

Summarise the physiology of vision, including dark adaptation, empty-field myopia and the use of off-centre viewing

Draw the information-processing model (sensation, perception, attention, decision, response) and annotate where errors arise

Explain bottom-up versus top-down processing and give an aviation example of each

Describe the limits of attention, including selective and divided attention and the cocktail-party effect

Explain the working-memory model and the difference between short-term and long-term memory stores

State the causes of forgetting and give one cockpit example of each

Define error, violation and violation-producing context and classify given examples correctly

Explain the SHELL model and identify its interfaces in a described occurrence

Describe the Reason model (active failures, latent conditions, defences) and apply it to a written accident summary

Explain the Threat and Error Management model: threat, error, undesired aircraft state and the three countermeasure layers

Distinguish slips, lapses, mistakes and violations and give one example of each from line operations

Describe the decision-making models used in aviation and the biases that degrade them (confirmation, plan continuation, anchoring, availability)

Explain risk assessment in practice, including the difference between perceived and real risk and the effect of risk homeostasis

Explain the Yerkes-Dodson curve and predict performance at low, optimum and high arousal

Distinguish acute from chronic stress and list the physiological and behavioural signs of each

Describe defence mechanisms (denial, projection, rationalisation, displacement) and how they affect crew communication

Explain the components of crew resource management and how each counteracts a specific human limitation

Describe leadership styles and the conditions under which each is appropriate in a two-crew cockpit

Explain assertiveness, the gradient of authority and the role of the captain's briefing in flattening it

Describe the barriers to effective communication (noise, ambiguity, expectation bias, rank) and the techniques that remove them

Explain the elements of a structured briefing and a structured challenge-and-response loop, and demonstrate both aloud

Define situational awareness at the three levels (perception, comprehension, projection) and give a cockpit example of failure at each

Explain the mechanisms of SA loss, including fixation, complacency, ambiguity and expectation

Describe automation levels, the ironies of automation and the failure modes of mode confusion and automation surprise

Explain workload: the inverted-U relationship, mental underload, and the difference between task load and mental workload

Describe the methods used to measure workload and SA and their limitations

Explain sleep architecture, the difference between REM and non-REM sleep, and the effects of sleep deprivation on performance

Describe circadian rhythms, the circadian low, and the direction of body-clock adaptation for eastward versus westward travel

Explain the causes, signs and countermeasures of fatigue, including controlled rest and strategic napping

State the structure of flight and duty time limitations and how cumulative duty and standby affect fatigue risk

Distinguish the four pillars of human factors and state why the study of human performance matters for safety