Flying in the Heat? Don’t Overlook the Human Factors

Psychologist and pilot breaks down hidden risks of summer operations and how to sharpen aeronautical decision making.

Meg Godlewski

Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Before you go up in the air on a hot day, there are some things you should consider. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots often overlook how hot weather, dehydration, disrupted sleep, and physical discomfort degrade their *own* performance and judgment, unlike their awareness of aircraft performance degradation.
Jolie Lucas' "Sizzling Summer Safety Series" educates aviators on these human factors, highlighting how issues like dehydration can impair a pilot's performance as significantly as alcohol.
The series provides tools for pilots to recognize subtle changes in themselves, question assumptions, establish clear limits, and improve aeronautical decision-making, also emphasizing the role of non-pilot companions in promoting safety.

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In ground school pilots learned how high elevation, hot weather, and high humidity can degrade an aircraft’s performance. But they probably didn’t pick up much about what those conditions do to the pilot.

If taught at all, it was likely through trial and error. If only there was an easier way, and now there is. The Sizzling Summer Safety Series by psychologist, speaker, and commercial pilot Jolie Lucas walks you through this human-factors minefield.