final feb cover - Indian Airforce

Press-on-itis or Get-home-itis simply means the
condition when a pilot undertakes a flight as per a fixed
plan despite deteriorating conditions when common sense
would have dictated a more safer alternative to divert or
simply to carry out a precautionary landing.
planning and consideration of what if scenarios
will ultimately lead to faulty aeronautical decision
making.
T- Task saturation, especially when
fatigued can lead to being trapped into the
press-on -itis syndrome. Target fixation due
too competitive an environment within the
squadron can lead to overlooking of the golden
rule of aviation that the first thing one must do
is fly your machine safely. I know of many a crew
on a check sortie who in the excessive effort to
impress as regards TOTs have been lax on the
other parameters be it height maintenance or
laid down speed restrictions so that in the debrief
they can say we were within +/- 5 seconds at the
waypoints.
The preventive methods which flow out
of an understanding of the causal factors are
‘Why FACE B’:-
W- Crew need to be taught to ask ‘Why’
‘What if’ scenarios are covered during general
and exercise briefings as emergencies during
training and combat missions. But a look at a large
number of accidents suggests that there is a need
for the supervisors to ensure that such elements
are adequately discussed and briefed even for
seemingly routine sorties and ferry flights.
F- Fuel planning for adverse weather
and clear fuel markings on the map at critical
waypoints to ensure correct Go/ No Go decisions
will lead to avoiding press-on-itis scenarios.
A- Crew need to be trained to select
suitable and safer ‘Alternatives’. Risk assessment
training must factor fatigue at the end of a long
flight
C- The service must have a demonstrated
‘Commitment’ to safety. No undue pressure
must be put to undertake missions especially for
VIP flights as it sends the conflicting message of
different rules for different people.
E- There must be adequate ‘Emphasis’ on
observing laid down minima and adherence to
SOPs.
B- During ‘Briefings’ bring out Go/ No Go
criteria. Be aware of your/ crew desire for presson-itis.
During debrief analyze decision making
during the sortie. Just because you made it does
not mean that the decision making was flawless.
Bring out the errors made and draw appropriate
lessons.
Press-on-itis is a dangerous mental state. Many
accidents are caused or are suspected to have
been caused by it. Awareness of unreasonable
pressure to get to destination, either self generated
or due company policy, would lead to steps to
avoid the same. Good training that stresses
awareness, setting of boundaries or tramlines,
sound knowledge of SOPs, planning ahead for
contingencies and disciplined adherence to
minima are the key to avoiding press-on-itis. Have
a safe flight and happy landings!
-Wg Cdr Ashish Kapoor
INDIAN AIR FORCE 2 0 1 2 F e b r u a r y Aerospace Safety 25