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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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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:
- BE20, Nadi Fiji, 2010 (On 25 April 2010, a Beech King Air touched down at Nadi with its landing gear in the transit position after flying a night approach during which a significant electrical system failure had occurred. The landing gear retracted and the aircraft left the runway to the side and came to a stop resting on its fuselage. The Investigation attributed the electrical failure, which directly affected the landing gear operating system and required two diodes to have both failed was likely to have meant that one would have failed on an earlier occasion with no apparent consequence.)
- FA20, vicinity Narsarsuaq Greenland, 2001 (On 5 August 2001, a Dassault Falcon 20 with an inoperative GPWS making a night approach to Narsarsuaq by visual reference impacted terrain 4.5 nm from the aerodrome. The Investigation noted the original crew intention to fly a non-precision instrument approach and attributed the accident to the failure of the crew to follow applicable procedures or engage in meaningful CRM as well as to deficiencies in the Operator's required procedures which had combined to leave the crew vulnerable to a 'black hole' effect. The effects of fatigue were considered likely to have been contributory.)
- B734, en-route, New South Wales Australia, 2007 (On 11 August 2007, a Qantas Boeing 737-400 on a scheduled passenger service from Perth, WA to Sydney, NSW was about three quarters of the way there in day VMC when the master caution light illuminated associated with low output pressure of both main tank fuel pumps. The flight crew then observed that the centre tank fuel pump switches on the forward overhead panel were selected to the OFF position and he immediately selected them to the ON position. The flight was completed without further event.)
- SF34, en-route, near Caltrauna Argentina, 2011 (On 18 May 2011, a Saab 340 crew attempted to continue a climb to their intended cruising level in significant airframe icing conditions at night before belatedly abandoning the attempt and descending to a lower level but one where their aircraft was nevertheless still rapidly accumulating ice. They were unable to recover control after it stalled and a crash into terrain below followed. The Investigation attributed the accident to lack of crew understanding of the importance of both the detection of and timely and appropriate response to both significant rates of airframe ice accumulation and indications of an impending aerodynamic stall.)
- B742 / B741, Tenerife Canary Islands Spain, 1977 (On 27 March 1977, a KLM Boeing 747-200 began its low visibility take-off at Tenerife without requesting or receiving take-off clearance and a collision with a Boeing 747-100 backtracking the same runway subsequently occurred. Both aircraft were destroyed by the impact and consequential fire and 583 people died. The Investigation attributed the crash primarily to the actions and inactions of the KLM Captain, who was the Operator's Chief Flying Instructor. Safety Recommendations made emphasised the importance of standard phraseology in all normal radio communications and avoidance of the phrase "take-off" in ATC Departure Clearances.)
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
- Human Factors Module: Stress
- Managing Stress in ATM, EUROCONTROL, March 2020
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.