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Analogies, analogies... "Aviate, navigate, communicate" is meant as a simple guide for pilots in distress. Distress on a plane can be extremely busy and demand

Analogies, analogies... "Aviate, navigate, communicate" is meant as a simple guide for pilots in distress. Distress on a plane can be extremely busy and demanding time and it may not be possible to think rationally - the situation may require the pilot to revert to rely on instincts and habit like the above rule. That is why training is so important for pilots. Our normal lives are rarely as busy. I don't think it is wise to rely on very basic instincts to drive what could more efficiently solved with high level reasoning. I would even go as far as to say that if you catch yourself to go a long time on what I call "autopilot" (doing things instinctively without stopping to think) you should stop and evaluate your situation. This sometimes happens to me, especially on a busy project towards the end. Not a good idea

imoverclocked 5y ago
Some of us are definitely as busy as to always be in a crunch. Stopping to think is exactly what might prevent this situation but it’s also excruciatingly difficult once there. I think that applies as a pilot too.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  > Stopping to think is exactly what might prevent this situation but it’s also excruciatingly difficult once there Which is exactly the reason to stop and think. Even during most damaging outages I took part in there was never a situation where I couldn't stop and reassess what is going on. > I think that applies as a pilot too. Most pilots will never meet a situation like that. But the training is aimed to prepare pilots to handle even worst possible situation where there isn't time to think and it is not just the choice of the pilot -- the the conscious part of human brain isn't able to process stuff that fast. I personally do not fly but I sail. To become a skipper you must learn to handle your boat and manage your crew. Full HALF of the training is devoted to just one maneuver, which is man over board situation. Yes, I repeat, half of the training is so that you can make a simple loop with your yacht and come back to rest just by the person that fell into water. There is lots of stuff to be done during that maneuver. On the type of yacht that I sail you will have to throw the person something floating, put MoB marker on your navigation, keep an eye on the person in water, manage the crew, prepare the deck for recovery, keep an eye on your boat so that you don't screw the maneuver, recognize the exact direction from which the wind blows so you know where you want to end up in relation to the person and execute complicated maneuver that will include at least one tack. Then you drop your sails at just the right moment so that the wind will slow down your boat as it comes to rest. During that time somebody would also be starting the engine to complete the maneuver. On a good day it takes about 10-20s for me with a crew that has at least been trained a little bit, over 20s on a worse day. There is absolutely no time to think then, you just go off "autopilot". But this is extremely rare, in most situations in life even in distress it is good to stop and think. I made it a point with my teams, whenever we have particularly stressful situation (like overruning an important project or an outage) to have a regular meeting devoted solely to stopping and thinking. Just to counteract the natural tendency of people to run on autopilot.
  - imoverclocked 5y ago
    Sounds like we are both fairly privileged that we can fly/sail and lead others to help form good habits. Decision fatigue is a real thing. Some people live in a different reality of resource scarcity, kids, far-less-than-ideal partners, multiple jobs etc. When your brain is fatigued, it’s almost impossible to think or absorb new information. When you are constantly fatigued, you get into chronic stress and start making more bad decisions which, (when unchecked) leads to a really negative cycle. It doesn’t take an emergency to create a situation where your brain can’t process information fast enough to respond to a dynamic environment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s crucial to stop and think in these scenarios to figure out what direction to go in order to fix the situation. It’s just really difficult because of the tendency towards perceived urgent (important/not) action. As a pilot, training is paired with thought to encourage constant improvement while making most activities second nature so that a lot of complexity is managed sub-consciously. Asking “What happens if your engine fails right now” is a prime example of helping a new pilot think about how they can modify their procedure to better prepare for that outcome. That’s especially the case when paired with “so what do you think you could have done better” afterwards, usually on the ground. There is even an informal checklist to help a pilot not enter a scenario where they might not make reasonable decisions. (IMSAFE) Thanks for your insight on sailing! It seems like a neat world from the outside. :)

imoverclocked 5y ago

Some of us are definitely as busy as to always be in a crunch. Stopping to think is exactly what might prevent this situation but it’s also excruciatingly difficult once there. I think that applies as a pilot too.

lmilcin 5y ago
> Stopping to think is exactly what might prevent this situation but it’s also excruciatingly difficult once there Which is exactly the reason to stop and think. Even during most damaging outages I took part in there was never a situation where I couldn't stop and reassess what is going on. > I think that applies as a pilot too. Most pilots will never meet a situation like that. But the training is aimed to prepare pilots to handle even worst possible situation where there isn't time to think and it is not just the choice of the pilot -- the the conscious part of human brain isn't able to process stuff that fast. I personally do not fly but I sail. To become a skipper you must learn to handle your boat and manage your crew. Full HALF of the training is devoted to just one maneuver, which is man over board situation. Yes, I repeat, half of the training is so that you can make a simple loop with your yacht and come back to rest just by the person that fell into water. There is lots of stuff to be done during that maneuver. On the type of yacht that I sail you will have to throw the person something floating, put MoB marker on your navigation, keep an eye on the person in water, manage the crew, prepare the deck for recovery, keep an eye on your boat so that you don't screw the maneuver, recognize the exact direction from which the wind blows so you know where you want to end up in relation to the person and execute complicated maneuver that will include at least one tack. Then you drop your sails at just the right moment so that the wind will slow down your boat as it comes to rest. During that time somebody would also be starting the engine to complete the maneuver. On a good day it takes about 10-20s for me with a crew that has at least been trained a little bit, over 20s on a worse day. There is absolutely no time to think then, you just go off "autopilot". But this is extremely rare, in most situations in life even in distress it is good to stop and think. I made it a point with my teams, whenever we have particularly stressful situation (like overruning an important project or an outage) to have a regular meeting devoted solely to stopping and thinking. Just to counteract the natural tendency of people to run on autopilot.
- imoverclocked 5y ago
  Sounds like we are both fairly privileged that we can fly/sail and lead others to help form good habits. Decision fatigue is a real thing. Some people live in a different reality of resource scarcity, kids, far-less-than-ideal partners, multiple jobs etc. When your brain is fatigued, it’s almost impossible to think or absorb new information. When you are constantly fatigued, you get into chronic stress and start making more bad decisions which, (when unchecked) leads to a really negative cycle. It doesn’t take an emergency to create a situation where your brain can’t process information fast enough to respond to a dynamic environment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s crucial to stop and think in these scenarios to figure out what direction to go in order to fix the situation. It’s just really difficult because of the tendency towards perceived urgent (important/not) action. As a pilot, training is paired with thought to encourage constant improvement while making most activities second nature so that a lot of complexity is managed sub-consciously. Asking “What happens if your engine fails right now” is a prime example of helping a new pilot think about how they can modify their procedure to better prepare for that outcome. That’s especially the case when paired with “so what do you think you could have done better” afterwards, usually on the ground. There is even an informal checklist to help a pilot not enter a scenario where they might not make reasonable decisions. (IMSAFE) Thanks for your insight on sailing! It seems like a neat world from the outside. :)