General Aviation FAA
Joint Steering Committee Aviation Safety
Safety Enhancement Topic
Startle Response
Fatal general aviation accidents often result from inappropriate responses to unexpected events.
Humans are subject to a “startle response” when they are faced with unexpected emergency situations and
may delay action or initiate inappropriate action in response to the emergency. Training and preparation can
reduce startle response time and promote more effective and timely responses to emergencies.
Don’t Get Caught By Surprise Train and plan for emergencies. In many
cases, pilots don’t review and practice how they will
Loss of aircraft control is a common factor in
handle unexpected events and abnormal or
accidents that would have been survivable if control
emergency situations, except during flight reviews
had been maintained throughout the emergency.
or other recurrent training.
In some cases, pilot skill and knowledge have not
been sufficiently developed to prepare for the Chair Flying
emergency, but in others it would seem that an
Unexpected events — especially those
initial inappropriate reaction began a chain of
occurring close to the ground — require rapid,
events that led to disaster.
appropriate action. Your chances of a safe outcome
Some examples of unexpected events during are greatly improved if your response to an
flight that could crop up and cause an emergency unexpected event is
(or an accident if it is not managed properly) planned out ahead of
include: time. Review “what if”
Partial/full loss of power on takeoff scenarios in your head
and practice what you
Landing gear extension/retraction failure would immediately do
Bird strike should a certain event
take you by surprise.
Cabin door opening
Better yet, after
Control problem/failure visualizing the onset of a
problem, say out loud
what you will do and then reach out and touch the
control or instrument you just mentioned. Mental
drills like this in a non-stressful environment (like
your favorite chair at home!) will help you develop a
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pre-planned course of action and test your mastery The Right Stuff
of your abnormal and emergency checklists. Of
As any test pilot could tell you, the discipline
course, for added realism, you can also try these
of planning for both positive and adverse outcomes
same exercises while sitting in your airplane. And if
is one of the most essential elements in the
you’re ready to test out your new and/or revised
mysterious mix that makes up the “right stuff” to be
procedures, consider getting together with a CFI and
a pilot. For a good pilot, that right stuff includes
practice them on a training flight. If you sign up for
solid training, regular practice, and the discipline to
the WINGS pilot proficiency program, you can even
strive for proficiency and perfection on every flight.
have those hours count towards a phase of WINGS.
It includes understanding your aircraft’s systems —
Simulate to Stimulate how they work, how they fail, and how those
Flight simulation is another great tool for failures could affect other systems or controls.
planning and preparing yourself to handle The right stuff also includes mastery of single
unexpected events. Today’s flight training devices pilot crew resource management (CRM). A pilot
for general aviation offer a tremendous range of with good CRM skills is one who has strong
possibilities. With the assistance of a qualified situational awareness of the aircraft and its flight
instructor, you can experience an engine failure after path, and also the range of resources (e.g., air traffic
takeoff, or practice your reaction to a primary or control) that can assist. Finally, the right stuff
multi-function flight display failure. Your instructor includes planning which can make all the difference
can also give you practice with electrical failures, when encountering an unexpected event.
control-system failures, and more.
Resources
Flight simulation software on your home
FAA Safety Briefing, “When the Best Made Plans Go
computer or personal electronic device can also help
Awry,” Nov/Dec 2010
you practice handling a variety of malfunctions and http://1.usa.gov/2p2VV2O
failures. Some of these programs will let you set up
random failures during a flight and let you
FAA Safety Briefing, “Between a Rock and Hard
experience them as you would in real-world flying.
Spot—Handling a Partial-Power Takeoff,” Nov/Dec
One of the biggest benefits of such practice is 2010
the ability to experience both sudden and subtle http://1.usa.gov/2p2UIYY
failures, become familiar with their early indications,
and practice overcoming the natural human FAA Safety Briefing, “When the Lights Go Out—What
tendency toward denial (“this can’t be happening to You Should Know About Aircraft Electrical Systems,”
me”) and rationalization (“it’s probably just a gauge Nov/Dec 2010
problem”). http://1.usa.gov/2opLsNB
FAA Risk Management Handbook, chapter 5: ADM;
and chapter 6: Single Pilot Resource Management
http://go.usa.gov/x9gnj
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