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Stress
From SKYbrary Wiki
| Article Information | ||
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| Category: | Human Behaviour | 
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| Content source: | SKYbrary | 
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| Content control: | SKYbrary |
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Contents
Description
Stress is a bodily response to a stimulus that disturbs or interferes with the “normal” physiological equilibrium of a person and, in the context of aviation, refers to a state of physical, mental or emotional strain due to some external or internal stimulus.
Understanding the factors that lead to stress, as well as how to cope with stressful situations, can greatly improve a individual's performance. Also, understanding that colleagues may react differently to the same stressor is important and can help you control a situation that can quickly get out of hand if an individual is having a negative reaction.
Accidents & Incidents
Events on the SKYbrary database which list stress as a significant contributory factor:
- A319, vicinity Zurich Switzerland, 2014 (On 17 October 2014, two recently type-qualified Airbus A319 pilots responded in a disorganised way after a sudden malfunction soon after take-off from Zurich required one engine to be shutdown. The return to land was flown manually and visually at an excessive airspeed and rate of descent with idle thrust on the remaining engine all the way to a touchdown which occurred without a landing clearance. The Investigation concluded that the poor performance of the pilots had been founded on a lack of prior analysis of the situation, poor CRM and non-compliance with system management and operational requirements.)
- B735, vicinity Kazan Russia, 2013 (On 17 November 2013, the crew of a Boeing 737-500 failed to establish on the ILS at Kazan after not following the promulgated intermediate approach track due to late awareness of LNAV map shift. A go around was eventually initiated from the unstabilised approach but the crew appeared not to recognise that the autopilot used to fly the approach would automatically disconnect. Non-control followed by inappropriate control led to a high speed descent into terrain less than a minute after go around commencement. The Investigation found that the pilots had not received appropriate training for all-engine go arounds or upset recovery.)
- A320, vicinity Oslo Norway, 2008 (On 19 December 2008, an Aeroflot Airbus A320 descended significantly below its cleared and acknowledged altitude after the crew lost situational awareness at night whilst attempting to establish on the ILS at Oslo from an extreme intercept track after a late runway change and an unchallenged incorrect readback. The Investigation concluded that the response to the EGPWS warning which resulted had been “late and slow” but that the risk of CFIT was “present but not imminent”. The context for the event was considered to have been poor communications between ATC and the aircraft in respect of changes of landing runway.)
- B773, Singapore, 2016 (On 27 June 2016, a Boeing 777-300ER powered by GE90-115B engines returned to Singapore when what was initially identified as a suspected right engine oil quantity indication problem evidenced other abnormal symptoms relating to the same engine. The engine caught fire on landing. The substantial fire was quickly contained and an emergency evacuation was not performed. The cause of the low oil quantity indication and the fire was a failure of the right engine Main Fuel Oil Heat Exchanger which had resulted in lubrication of the whole of the affected engine by a mix of jet fuel and oil.)
- B735, Jos Nigeria, 2010 (On 24 August 2010, a Boeing 737-500 made an uncontrolled touchdown on a wet runway at Jos in daylight after the approach was continued despite not being stabilised. A lateral runway excursion onto the grass occurred before the aircraft regained the runway centreline and stopped two-thirds of the way along the 3000 metre-long runway. Substantial damage was caused to the aircraft but none of the occupants were injured. The aircraft commander was the Operator's 737 Fleet Captain and the Investigation concluded that the length of time he had been on duty had led to fatigue which had impaired his performance.)
- … further results
Related Articles
Related OGHFA Situational Examples
| Situational Example | Flight Phase |
| De-icing and Latent Organisational Factors (OGHFA SE) | Take Off |
| Disorientation During Vectored Go-Around (OGHFA SE) | Missed Approach |
| Fuel Leak and Confirmation Bias (OGHFA SE) | Climb, Cruise, Descent |
| Fuel Starvation, Stress, Fatigue and Nonstandard Phraseology (OGHFA SE) | Cruise, Descent |
| Landing Gear Failure (OGHFA SE) | Landing |
| Takeoff Weight Entry Error and Fatigue (OGHFA SE) | Take Off |
| Unidentified Fire On Board (OGHFA SE) | Cruise, Descent, Landing |
Related OGHFA Material
Further Reading
EUROCONTROL
Others
- Flight Safety Australia: Fit to Fly?
- Fighting Pilot Fatigue, video by Boeing’s Fatigue Risk Management team in partnership with Delta airlines to portray the effects of fatigue on pilots. It describes technologies in the flight deck that can monitor and prevent fatigue-related events.
- Safety Behaviours: Human Factors Resource Guide for Engineers, CASA (Australia), 2013. Chapter 6 deals with stress for maintenance personnel.