How Stress Relate to Aviation?

How Stress Relate to Aviation?

In aviation, accidents almost always occur in a sequence of mistakes made, like a domino effect. Stress is the finger that many times pushes the first domino into the rest causing the effect. In order to maintain safety in aviation, at least one of these dominos must be removed to avoid a dreadful accident. This is where all of human factor studies and hard work can come into play. Depending on what particular job a person is performing in aviation, they must take steps to avoid undue stress. Stress can be avoided by taking steps to relieve other possible factors. Physical factors such as getting plenty of rest, eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water while exercising regularly will help the body resist fatigue and stress. Mental factors are equally as important. Knowing one’s job well and being confident in the execution of job duties will equally reduce stress. The equilibrium of physical and mental factors does not completely destroy the stress factor, but it will make it manageable and thus safer for everyone.

Link between stress and performance…

From a pilot's perspective, at critical junctures of flight such as take off and landing, it would be best that pilots are at optimal performance.
However, while cruising in flight, being in the middle of the upward portion of the curve would be sufficient although not at such a point that the pilot is under-aroused that important things like heading changes or reporting points are missed.

Researchers have studied the effects on pilot performance of both job-related stress and stress at home. A study based on a questionnaire administered to 19 U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilots in 2000 found that, as stress at home increased, stress on the job also increased. “Pilots under stress at home felt tired and worried … at work,” said the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report on the study. “Pilots indicated that as the home stress experienced at work increased, self-perceptions of flying performance decreased, especially the sense of ‘not feeling ahead of the game.

Authors of the FAA report said that their findings were that the pilots surveyed identified their primary coping strategies as a stable spousal relationship, a stable home life and the ability to talk with an understanding partner. “The first warning signs of home-based psychological distress may be more evident in the daily work activities rather than in cockpit error,” the report said. “If support services and management recognized the early warning signs at work that were symptomatic of home-based stress, they could provide timely intervention before the occurrence of more serious flying performance decrements.”

…CAUSES OF STRESS IN AVIATION…

Pilot Stress

In aviation, at all phases of flight, pilots are subjected to different amounts of stress; how they react when subjected to stress will ultimately make or break whether the outcome is a safe and successful flight.

The image below depicts the different amount of workload and hence stress the pilot faces during the different phases of flight. Stress/ Workload is highest during the critical junctures of flight which are taking off and landing.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) Stress

ATC is a highly demanding job with high stress levels due to the complexity involved balancing the controlling and deconflicting of numerous aircraft in an efficiently, expeditiously and safe manner whilst also catering for contingencies such as weather development and aircraft emergencies.

Due to this complexity, controllers require high cognitive capacities which include "spatial scanning, movement detection, image and pattern recognition, prioritizing, visual and verbal filtering, coding and decoding, inductive and deductive reasoning, short- and long-term memory, and mathematical and probabilistic reasoning".

Maintenance Stress

Aviation maintenance is a stressful task due to the fact that aircraft make money flying instead of being tended to in the hangar; hence there is enormous stress in finishing maintenance within a short timeframe and get the aircraft functional and flyable to avoid flight delays and cancellations. Whilst doing the job, there are also many things to be careful about in terms of using the correct tool, installing the correct parts whilst working in dark tight spaces. The stress can be self-imposed by increasing one's expectations of themselves and working harder than necessary to complete the job in the required time frame. The stress can also be from the manner or method that a manager uses to organise the employees. By not having the "people" skills to effectively communicate information or tasks to the engineers on the hanger floor, the manager risks stressing the engineers out by a lack of information.

Flight-Crew Related Stress

For pilots and other crewmembers, even under ordinary conditions, the flight environment includes stressors such as noise, vibration, decreased barometric pressure, and accelerative forces. Fatigue and altered sleep-wake cycles also may be factors, especially for crewmembers on flights that span several times zones. Moreover, a 2000 study found that the captain’s personality type also influences the amount of stress on the flight deck.

During the study, 24 three-member flight crews performed line operations, including emergency operations, in a Boeing 737 simulator; afterward, they were tested for perceived stress.

Physical Stressors

These stressors add to the personnel's workload and make it uncomfortable for him in their work environment:

High temperature build up in the cockpit/hangar increases perspiration and heart rate causing overheating of body. Low temperature build up causes the body to feel cold, weak and drowsy. Changes in air pressure due to turbulence exerts unusual g-forces on the body and makes it difficult to control the aircraft.

Vibration transmitted to the body from the aircraft via the seat makes it difficult to read navigational charts and instruments.

Noise levels in a typical cockpit are in the range 75-80 dB. Anything above this causes stress and makes it difficult to concentrate and forces the pilot to have to strain to hear ATC instructions. Noise levels in the hangars are also high due to hangars situated near aircraft taking off and landing, making it difficult for maintenance personnel to focus and concentrate.

Poor Lightings at their work area make it difficult to read technical data and manuals whilst working on the aircraft and the use of torchlights are also inadequate, increasing the propensity to miss something important.

Confined spaces also render maintenance personnel difficult to perform their tasks as their bodies are sometimes contorted in unusual positions.

Poor visibility due to heavy fog and traveling in instrument meteorological conditions.

Physiological Stressors

Flying when unwell resulting in the body using more energy fighting the illness and hence less energy to perform vital tasks.

Not having proper meals also result in not having enough energy and induces symptoms like headache and shaking.

Lack of sleep; Fatigued, the pilot is unable to maintain performance standards for long periods as he struggling to stay awake due long working hours.

Conflicting Shift Schedules affect the body's circadian cycle and lead to a degradation of performance.

Working long hours without any break especially at busy airports when handling multiple aircraft departing and arriving on intersecting and parallel runways.

However, it is to be noted that a particular situation can bring about different degrees of difficulty for different people. The situation can be a stressor for one person and "normal" for another. Also, the stressor can cause stress in the same person when he is in a different predicament ie stressors which he has usually kept in checked suddenly is overwhelming him now due to perhaps increasingly turmoil in the family.

…STEPS TO REDUCE THE STRESS IN AVIATION…

People cope with stress in many ways. Specialists say that the first step in coping is to identify stressors and the symptoms that occur after exposure to those stressors. Other recommendations involve development or maintenance of a healthy lifestyle, with adequate rest and exercise, a healthy diet, limited consumption of alcoholic drinks and avoidance of tobacco products.

Physically

Maintain good physical fitness

Have regular meals

Have sufficient sleep

Sound time management

Control the physical environment

Psychologically

Sound preparation with regard to knowledge, skills and procedures

Have confidence in your training and ability

Have a well balanced social,family life so that financial, domestic worries are not a problem

Share and discuss problems so as not to bottle them up

Solve problems as soon as possible to prevent snowball effect

Stress Management

Stress management is an important skill for aviation personnel to hone so that they adequately cope with stress and prevent it from overwhelming their ability to respond properly at work.

Recognize the potential signs and symptoms of stress

Be proactive in removing the cause of stress ie turbulence in extreme weather by terminating the mission, according more priority to the emergency aircraft first before controlling other aircraft

Removing yourself from the stressful situation by knowing one's own capability ie give up aerobatics learning and try something else if it is too much to handle, calling out for help from colleagues if in a very complex ATC scenario

Prioritize actions in the cockpit ie handling the emergency vs chatter on radio telephony with ATC

Do not be over focused in finishing the mission regardless of the situation ie impending weather, impeding deadline in completing the maintenance task

Be current with all existing procedures and familiar at the workplace