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Pathological Behaviours in Pilots During Unexpected Critical Events: the Effects of Startle, Freeze and Denial on Situation Outcome

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Pathological Behaviours in Pilots During Unexpected Critical Events: the Effects of Startle, Freeze and Denial on Situation Outcome Pathological Behaviours in Pilots during Unexpected Critical Events: The Effects of Startle, Freeze and Denial on Situation Outcome Author Martin, Wayne Leslie Published 2014 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/225 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366319 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au Pathological Behaviours in Pilots During Unexpected Critical Events: The Effects of Startle, Freeze and Denial on Situation Outcome Wayne Leslie Martin BAvMan, MAvMgmt, MBus Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Griffith Aviation, School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University April 2013 ii Abstract Over the last 40 years significant advances in aviation technology have contributed strongly to improvements in aviation safety. Recent figures suggest that fourth generation aircraft are now achieving fatal accident rates in the order of 10-7 and ongoing work continues to improve this rate. Significant improvements in engine and systems reliability, coupled with safety technologies such as Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning (EGPWS), Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS), Global Positioning System (GPS), and Vertical Situation Displays (VSD) have contributed to reductions in accident rates. Additionally, initiatives such as RNAV and RNP (AR) approaches continue to improve non-precision approach accuracy and safety while air traffic control improvements continue to accommodate this increased safety as aircraft traffic continues to grow strongly. Nevertheless, the reliability engendered by all these incremental improvements to safety has a downside. While pilots in the earlier years of airline transport had a healthy expectation for engine and systems failures, the modern airline pilot does not necessarily share this. Indeed, the modern airline aircraft is so reliable, and failures are so rare, that pilots are now unwittingly conditioned into an expectation of unwavering reliability. This unintentional complacency means that attention to emergency procedures and an expectation for dealing with real malfunctions is not as well honed as it perhaps once was. The result of this conditioned expectation of normalcy is that when unexpected critical events occur, pilots are often genuinely surprised and don’t have readily accessible mental action plans on how to deal with them, unlike their predecessors who experienced emergencies on a regular basis. Over the last few years in particular, these “surprise” critical events have created situations where pilots have become startled or suffered the effects of acute stress, and as a result have acted inappropriately, ineffectively, or, in some cases, taken no action at all. Startle is a ubiquitous human reflex, which is also common to most animals. Where a real threat persists however, startle can transition from a simple reflex action into a full stress response. This response, commonly known as the “fear-potentiated startle”, involves the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, with considerable physiological changes occurring as a result. This response to a strong startle has been shown to cause significant impairment to both cognitive and psychomotor performance for some time afterwards, and in the context of a critical aviation iii event could cause reduced situational awareness, decision-making and handling capabilities, with a potential impact on flight safety. Similarly the onset of acute stress as a critical event unfolds has been shown to cause pathological behaviours in pilots. Behavioural inaction or freezing has occurred where pilots have suddenly become overwhelmed by stress to the point where they become unable to process sufficient information to act. Acute stress has also been shown to enact coping and defence mechanisms such as denial. These processes, which are not clearly delineated in the literature, appear to be both a strategic and a tactical means of stress avoidance, which may not be a conscious effort. In examining these pathological behaviours, aircraft accident and incident analyses were conducted from two sources: accident and incident reports from recent history; and personal accounts from pilots who have experienced critical events. These case studies were analysed for iterations of startle, freeze and denial, with a substantial number of those examined revealing these pathological behaviours. Additionally, attempts were made to quantify the effects of startle using a B737 Flight Simulator. Eighteen volunteers were exposed to a startling stimulus at a critical stage of flight, measuring any reactionary delay and other qualitative reactions. Approximately one third of participants (n=7) showed pathological reactions to the startling stimulus. Results from the case study analysis and the startle experiments suggested that the pathological behaviours of startle, freeze and denial have the potential to impact negatively on situation outcome, particularly during unexpected critical events. Further research on these phenomena and training interventions to help better prepare pilots for unexpected critical events is required. iv Statement of Originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Signed: Date: 9 April 2013 v Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank those people who chose to volunteer for either interviews or the startle experiments. Your willingness to contribute your time and energy towards the cause of improving flight safety was sincerely appreciated. I would also like to thank those aviation organisations across Australasia that provided me with unfettered access to their pilots for the research. Without their assistance there would never have been volunteers to provide the fascinating data which I obtained. I hope that the results of this study will prove useful to you in trying to better deal with the challenges we face in the areas of my research. Secondly, I would like to thank my two supervisors, Associate Professors Paul Bates and Patrick Murray for their hard work and sage advice. Particular thanks go to Pat, who, as one of the aviation industry’s most astute analysts, provided invaluable insight and unwavering support, and I thank him sincerely. Paul’s worldly experience in the aviation and academic fields was especially helpful and proved invaluable in the final stages of constructing this thesis. Both Paul and Pat provided some wonderful guidance and motivation and without this, this study would never have come to fruition. Associate Professor Tim Mavin also deserves a big thank you. As a friend, colleague and informal mentor, his wealth of knowledge and willingness to challenge have been immensely helpful. The brainstorming sessions we have shared over a coffee have proved invaluable in helping me formulate ideas, theories and processes. To Dr Mike Steele, I would like to thank you for your guidance on the statistical analysis in my research. For your patience and understanding I thank you sincerely. To Dr Doug Drury and Captain Peter Williams I would also like to thank you for your time and effort in completing an independent peer review of my study data. I would also like to thank my family and friends. Without your support, your forgiveness for the hours I have worked, and the sacrifices I have made, this project would never have been completed. I look forward to sharing some more of my time with all of you. vi List of Figures Figure 1 The stress reaction (fight or flight) 17 Figure 2 A conceptual model of appraisal, coping and information processing 24 Figure 3 The generalised relationship between arousal and performance 35 Figure 4 Arousal and the effects of complexity on task performance 35 Figure 5 Wickens’ model of human information processing 37 Figure 6 The amygdala 41 Figure 7 The amygdala (medial view) 41 Figure 8 Regions of the human amygdala 42 Figure 9 Typical apparatus used for startle and fear conditioning experiments on mice 43 Figure 10 Neural pathways underlying fear conditioning 44 Figure 11 Subcortical connectivity of the amygdala 47 Figure 12 Contextual fear conditioning neural pathways 49 Figure 13 Output from the amygdala in the human stress response 51 Figure 14 The hpa axis 52 Figure 15 Expanded view of the hypothalamic-pituitary section of the hpa axis 53 Figure 16 Structure of the human nervous system 55 Figure 17 The relationship between the hpa, the sympathetic nervous system and elements of the parasympathetic nervous system 57 Figure 18 Elements in the parasympathetic nervous system 58 Figure 19 Baddeley’s updated model of working memory 61 Figure 20 The structure of long term memory 62 Figure 21 Potential mechanisms by which the amygdala mediates the influence of emotional arousal on memory 64 Figure 22 Defence response cascade underlying the processing of increasingly arousing aversive stimuli. 78 Figure 23 The seven stages of denial 82 Figure 24 Startle simulator exercise profile 187 Figure 25 ILS-Y approach plate runway 19 Brisbane 188 Figure 26 B737 PFD with flight director crosshairs shown 190 Figure 27 Approach 1 delta vs. age 200 Figure 28 Approach 1 delta vs. rank 202 Figure 29 Approach 1 delta
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