Most pilots know a majority of mishaps can be traced back to a chain of events that, if broken, would have prevented the accident from happening. No doubt some could have been prevented if the pilot had been able to press pause, or activate an airframe parachute, when the flight started going south. While most of us dont have that option, we can pull a mental ripcord of sorts and stop a progression of poor decision-making from becoming catastrophic. 288
Playing Mental Defense Against Accidents
Most pilots know a majority of mishaps can be traced back to a chain of events that, if broken, would have prevented the accident from happening. No doubt some could have been prevented if the pilot had been able to press pause, or activate an airframe parachute, when the flight started going south. While most of us dont have that option, we can pull a mental ripcord of sorts and stop a progression of poor decision-making from becoming catastrophic. While most pilots are familiar with the chain-of-events explanation as to how accidents happen, little time is spent trying to figure out how to break the chain, particularly when it involves a form of distorted decision-making. That is, of course, easier said than done. If it were an easy task, we wouldnt spend as much time reading about perfect-performing airplanes operating in ordinary circumstances plowing into terrain with tragic results. One place to start is to look at the chain of mental events leading up to an accident, rather than just the aerodynamic aspects of the flight. Doing so can provide some helpful insights toward identifying the bad link before it gets added to the chain.
Key Takeaways:
- Many aviation accidents stem from a chain of poor mental decisions rather than solely mechanical issues, emphasizing the need to break this mental progression.
- "Cognitive dissonance" is a key psychological factor where pilots rationalize conflicting thoughts (e.g., safety vs. convenience), leading to distorted decision-making and increased risk.
- Pilots can counter this by defining their "Normal Operations Box," recognizing "out-of-the-box" situations, and then pausing for objective decision-making to prevent rationalizations and break the chain of flawed reasoning.
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