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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFor link to Skybrary Document Library source, click here<\/a><\/mark>.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Flight Safety Foundation briefing note presents a definition of situational awareness<\/a>. It explains the complex process of maintaining situational awareness, focuses on how it is lost and proposes prevention and recovery strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis briefing note is intended to help the reader gain and maintain situational awareness, to prevent falling into the traps associated with its loss and to avoid the negative effects of its loss on flight safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nA widely accepted definition of individual situational awareness comes from Endsley (1988) :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSituational awareness is<\/strong>The perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space,The comprehension of their meaning andThe projection of their status in the near future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe Aircrew Incident Reporting Scheme (AIRS) model in Figure 1 illustrates the most common factors that determine a pilot\u2019s situational awareness. As developed by Airbus and British Airways, AIRS contains various personal, informational, environmental and organizational influences that affect crew actions and, in turn, can be affected by how the crew performs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crmknowledgehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-26-at-15.35.52.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe main components of situational awareness are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Environmental awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of other aircraft, communications between air traffic control and other aircraft<\/a>, weather<\/a> and terrain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mode awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of aircraft configuration and flight control system modes. The latter includes such aspects as speed, altitude, heading, in armed\/acquire\/hold modes and the state of flight management system<\/a> (FMS) data input and flight-planning functions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Spatial orientation<\/strong>: Awareness of geographical position and aircraft attitude.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- System awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of the aircraft systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Time horizon<\/strong>: Awareness of time with respect to when required procedures or events, such as time to initial approach turn, will occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Data<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is not just a theoretical notion. It is pertinent to most accidents<\/a> or incidents<\/a>, it is real, and its absence causes accidents. Research from The Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) indicates that human factors are a contributing cause in around 70 percent of all incidents and accidents. Approximately 85 percent of incident reports include a mention of loss of situational awareness. Degraded situational awareness can lead to inadequate decision making and mistakes. This is illustrated in Table 1<\/strong>, which identifies causal factors in approach and landing accidents identified in the Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crmknowledgehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-26-at-15.37.21.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIssues and Factors Involved<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nGaining and Maintaining Situational Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is having an accurate understanding of what is happening around you and what is likely to happen in the near future. As shown in Figure 2, Endsley\u2019s definition suggests that situational awareness includes three processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- The perception of what is happening (Level 1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The understanding of what has been perceived (Level 2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The use of what is understood to think ahead (Level 3)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crmknowledgehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-26-at-15.38.49.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Level 1<\/strong> \u2014 Perception: Scanning and Gathering Data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To build a mental model of the environment, it is necessary to gather sufficient and useful data by using our senses of vision, hearing and touch to scan the environment. We must direct our attention to the most important aspects of our surroundings and then compare what we sense with the experiences and knowledge in our memory. It is an active process and requires significant discipline, as well as knowing what to look for, when to look for it and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Level 2<\/strong> \u2014 Representation: Understanding and Creating Our Mental Model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our understanding is built by combining observations from the real world with knowledge and experience recalled from memory. If we successfully match observations with knowledge and experience, as shown in Figure 3, we have developed an accurate mental model of our environment. This mental model has to be kept updated with inputs from the real world by paying attention to a wide range of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Figure 3: Understanding the Situation by Matching Mental Model and Real World<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crmknowledgehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-26-at-15.39.49.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Level 3<\/strong> \u2014 Projection: Thinking Ahead and Updating the Model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our understanding enables us to think ahead and project the future state of our environment. This step is crucial in the pilot\u2019s decision-making process and requires that our understanding, based on careful data gathering, be as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Situational Awareness and the Decision-Making Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is strongly related to the decision-making process. Figure 4<\/strong> shows a simple model of the tight coupling between situational awareness and decision making. Situational awareness must precede decision making because the operator has to perceive a situation in order to have a goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFigure 4: Situational Awareness and Decision Making<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crmknowledgehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-26-at-15.40.22.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Decision-Making Loop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nOur actions are driven by goals. To help us act to achieve our goals, we use our mental models to anticipate the outcome of our action. This can be thought of as feedforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more we anticipate accurately, the more efficient we become in our tasks, the more energy we save, and the more we can preserve resources for unexpected situations. Conversely, by comparing the results of our actions with set goals, we can modify our actions or, if necessary, our goals. This feedback is vital to the success of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feedback and anticipation help keep our mental picture of the world aligned with the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major loss of situational awareness occurs when inappropriate mental representations are activated in spite of real world evidence. People then act \u201cin the wrong scene,\u201d and seek cues confirming their expectations, a behavior known as confirmation bias.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn other words, situational awareness influences our decision making and allows us to stay ahead of the aircraft:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This briefing note is intended to help the reader gain and maintain situational awareness, to prevent falling into the traps associated with its loss and to avoid the negative effects of its loss on flight safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nA widely accepted definition of individual situational awareness comes from Endsley (1988) :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSituational awareness is<\/strong>The perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space,The comprehension of their meaning andThe projection of their status in the near future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe Aircrew Incident Reporting Scheme (AIRS) model in Figure 1 illustrates the most common factors that determine a pilot\u2019s situational awareness. As developed by Airbus and British Airways, AIRS contains various personal, informational, environmental and organizational influences that affect crew actions and, in turn, can be affected by how the crew performs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe main components of situational awareness are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Environmental awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of other aircraft, communications between air traffic control and other aircraft<\/a>, weather<\/a> and terrain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mode awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of aircraft configuration and flight control system modes. The latter includes such aspects as speed, altitude, heading, in armed\/acquire\/hold modes and the state of flight management system<\/a> (FMS) data input and flight-planning functions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Spatial orientation<\/strong>: Awareness of geographical position and aircraft attitude.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- System awareness<\/strong>: Awareness of the aircraft systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Time horizon<\/strong>: Awareness of time with respect to when required procedures or events, such as time to initial approach turn, will occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Data<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is not just a theoretical notion. It is pertinent to most accidents<\/a> or incidents<\/a>, it is real, and its absence causes accidents. Research from The Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) indicates that human factors are a contributing cause in around 70 percent of all incidents and accidents. Approximately 85 percent of incident reports include a mention of loss of situational awareness. Degraded situational awareness can lead to inadequate decision making and mistakes. This is illustrated in Table 1<\/strong>, which identifies causal factors in approach and landing accidents identified in the Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIssues and Factors Involved<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nGaining and Maintaining Situational Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is having an accurate understanding of what is happening around you and what is likely to happen in the near future. As shown in Figure 2, Endsley\u2019s definition suggests that situational awareness includes three processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- The perception of what is happening (Level 1)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The understanding of what has been perceived (Level 2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The use of what is understood to think ahead (Level 3)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Level 1<\/strong> \u2014 Perception: Scanning and Gathering Data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To build a mental model of the environment, it is necessary to gather sufficient and useful data by using our senses of vision, hearing and touch to scan the environment. We must direct our attention to the most important aspects of our surroundings and then compare what we sense with the experiences and knowledge in our memory. It is an active process and requires significant discipline, as well as knowing what to look for, when to look for it and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Level 2<\/strong> \u2014 Representation: Understanding and Creating Our Mental Model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our understanding is built by combining observations from the real world with knowledge and experience recalled from memory. If we successfully match observations with knowledge and experience, as shown in Figure 3, we have developed an accurate mental model of our environment. This mental model has to be kept updated with inputs from the real world by paying attention to a wide range of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Figure 3: Understanding the Situation by Matching Mental Model and Real World<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Level 3<\/strong> \u2014 Projection: Thinking Ahead and Updating the Model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our understanding enables us to think ahead and project the future state of our environment. This step is crucial in the pilot\u2019s decision-making process and requires that our understanding, based on careful data gathering, be as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Situational Awareness and the Decision-Making Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSituational awareness is strongly related to the decision-making process. Figure 4<\/strong> shows a simple model of the tight coupling between situational awareness and decision making. Situational awareness must precede decision making because the operator has to perceive a situation in order to have a goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFigure 4: Situational Awareness and Decision Making<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Decision-Making Loop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nOur actions are driven by goals. To help us act to achieve our goals, we use our mental models to anticipate the outcome of our action. This can be thought of as feedforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more we anticipate accurately, the more efficient we become in our tasks, the more energy we save, and the more we can preserve resources for unexpected situations. Conversely, by comparing the results of our actions with set goals, we can modify our actions or, if necessary, our goals. This feedback is vital to the success of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feedback and anticipation help keep our mental picture of the world aligned with the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major loss of situational awareness occurs when inappropriate mental representations are activated in spite of real world evidence. People then act \u201cin the wrong scene,\u201d and seek cues confirming their expectations, a behavior known as confirmation bias.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn other words, situational awareness influences our decision making and allows us to stay ahead of the aircraft:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Situational awareness is<\/strong>The perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space,The comprehension of their meaning andThe projection of their status in the near future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Aircrew Incident Reporting Scheme (AIRS) model in Figure 1 illustrates the most common factors that determine a pilot\u2019s situational awareness. As developed by Airbus and British Airways, AIRS contains various personal, informational, environmental and organizational influences that affect crew actions and, in turn, can be affected by how the crew performs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main components of situational awareness are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Situational awareness is not just a theoretical notion. It is pertinent to most accidents<\/a> or incidents<\/a>, it is real, and its absence causes accidents. Research from The Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) indicates that human factors are a contributing cause in around 70 percent of all incidents and accidents. Approximately 85 percent of incident reports include a mention of loss of situational awareness. Degraded situational awareness can lead to inadequate decision making and mistakes. This is illustrated in Table 1<\/strong>, which identifies causal factors in approach and landing accidents identified in the Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaining and Maintaining Situational Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Situational awareness is having an accurate understanding of what is happening around you and what is likely to happen in the near future. As shown in Figure 2, Endsley\u2019s definition suggests that situational awareness includes three processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To build a mental model of the environment, it is necessary to gather sufficient and useful data by using our senses of vision, hearing and touch to scan the environment. We must direct our attention to the most important aspects of our surroundings and then compare what we sense with the experiences and knowledge in our memory. It is an active process and requires significant discipline, as well as knowing what to look for, when to look for it and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our understanding is built by combining observations from the real world with knowledge and experience recalled from memory. If we successfully match observations with knowledge and experience, as shown in Figure 3, we have developed an accurate mental model of our environment. This mental model has to be kept updated with inputs from the real world by paying attention to a wide range of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 3: Understanding the Situation by Matching Mental Model and Real World<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our understanding enables us to think ahead and project the future state of our environment. This step is crucial in the pilot\u2019s decision-making process and requires that our understanding, based on careful data gathering, be as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Situational Awareness and the Decision-Making Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Situational awareness is strongly related to the decision-making process. Figure 4<\/strong> shows a simple model of the tight coupling between situational awareness and decision making. Situational awareness must precede decision making because the operator has to perceive a situation in order to have a goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 4: Situational Awareness and Decision Making<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Decision-Making Loop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our actions are driven by goals. To help us act to achieve our goals, we use our mental models to anticipate the outcome of our action. This can be thought of as feedforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more we anticipate accurately, the more efficient we become in our tasks, the more energy we save, and the more we can preserve resources for unexpected situations. Conversely, by comparing the results of our actions with set goals, we can modify our actions or, if necessary, our goals. This feedback is vital to the success of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Feedback and anticipation help keep our mental picture of the world aligned with the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major loss of situational awareness occurs when inappropriate mental representations are activated in spite of real world evidence. People then act \u201cin the wrong scene,\u201d and seek cues confirming their expectations, a behavior known as confirmation bias.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, situational awareness influences our decision making and allows us to stay ahead of the aircraft:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Data<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIssues and Factors Involved<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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