STRESS IN AVIATION INDUSTRY

ANKITA
AMITA
ANMOL
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS
 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS(ATC)
• Highly complex job
• Requires high levels of knowledge and
expertise also specific skills pertaining to
cognitive domains
• Spatial perception,information,logical
reasoning,inductive and deductive reasoning
• Communication and human relations
 Two sides of the same coin
UPSIDE DOWNSIDE
• High pay • Work shifts-
– $28.00/hr holidays,weekends,all hours
– $100,000/yr • Limited or no breaks in 8hr
• Highest paying job without schedules
a college degree • Responsible for more
money and more lives than
an average person is during
their entire lifetime
CAUSES OF STRESS FOR ATCs
●
● Number of aircrafts
●
● Peak traffic hours
DEMAND ●
● Extraneous traffic
●
● Unforseeable events

Operating ●

●
●
Time pressure having to bend the rules
Lodd of control
procedures ●
Consequence of errors

Working ●
● Unbroken duty periods
●
Shift nd night work
times
 Working ●
Limitations and relaibility of equipment
●
Equipment layout
tools
●

●
● Lighting optical reflections
Working ●
● Niose/distractors
●
Microclimate
environment
●

●
● Rest and canteen facilities

●
Role ambiguity
Work
●

●Relations with superiors and collegaues

●

●Salary
●

organization ●Public opinion

●
 STUDY-
• Journal Psychosomatic Medicine
– Air traffic controllers' stress management and
hypertension risk(Main Category: Hypertension
Article Date: 01 Oct 2004)  Robert M. Rose, M.D., of the University of
Texas Medical Branch and colleagues
– Follow up study on an earlier study done in 1974-1978 on how
controllers’ bloood pressure and heart rate respond to heavy workloads
– Controllers whose systolic blood pressure rose in response to stress
during that period were more likely to develop developed chronic high
blood pressure 20 years later. 
– Sample-
• 218 white males
– Conclusion
• 17% developed hypertension
• ATC represent a particularly strong case of stress affecting health.
04/14/1958 Castel de Fels, Spain
07/21/1961 Shemya, Alaska
02/08/1965 New York, New York
03/05/1969 San Juan, Puerto Rico
02/06/1970 Samarkand, USSR
12/20/1972 Chicago, Illinois
09/09/1976 Adler, Russia
08/11/1979 Dneprodzerzhinsk,
USSR
04/19/1983 Keninakan, Russia
02/01/1991 Los Angeles, California  USAir/Skywest
11/07/1996 Lagos, Nigeria
09/26/1997 Buah Nabar, Indonesia Garuda Indonesian ATC error in directing the plane in the wrong
07/01/2002 Uberlinger, Germany
Aviaco Another aircraft was permitted to takeoff without
knowing the exact position of the plane.
Alaska AL Lack of guidance from air traffic controller during
last stages of flight.
Eastern AL Placement of the two aircraft on a near head on
course causing one to crash.
Prinair A trained vectored the aircraft into mountainous
terrain under IFR conditions.
Aeroflot Misidentification of aircraft by the ATC causing the
plane to impact a mountain.
Delta/North The ATC gave ambiguous instructions to the crew.
Central
Aeroflot / Aeroflot Violation of separation rules.
Aeroflot Separation error by the ATC causing a midair
collision.
Aeroflot ATC procedural error in not identifying the planes
position.
ATC cleared a plane to land while the runway was
occupied by another aircraft.
Aviation Dev. Corp. The controller thought he had cleared to aircraft to
the correct altitude but didn't.
AL direction into mountainous terrain.
Bashkirian AL / DHL Conflicting information give to pilot by ATC and
what he was receiving on his TCAS.
CONSEQUENCES
INTERVENTIONS
PASSENGERS
 FLYING RELATED STRESS
• International travel alters routine and can markedly affect
mental state
• Relocation is a recognized stressor( Lucas, 1987)
• Vocational, leisure, and relocation activities involving travel
are a routine of modern life. All modes of transport can be
anxiety provoking. However, airborne travel appears to create
more psychological upset than other transportation(McIntosh
et al., 1998)
 STRESS RELATED TO PASSENGER
• The most common behavior experienced by air passengers
include motion sickness, jetlag and increased arousal and
stress at different stages of flight
• Many people travel in order to relax on holiday and reduce
stress in their lives yet, ironically, air travel seems in itself to
expose passengers to stress
 SOURCES OF STRESS
• Some sources of stress may seem ordinary, such as having to
cope with a short delay, but nonetheless can trigger intense
emotional reactions.
• The absence of any information or an acceptable explanation
from airline employees or crew simply exacerbates the
situation
• Away from the familiarity & security of their accustomed
environment, there is increased risk to passengers of suffering
psychological problems, as well as greater exposure to a range
of hazards and health risks
 AIR TRAVEL CAN INDUCE-

• Anxiety
• Depression

• Panic attacks
• Or even psychosis in vulnerable individuals
 ANXIETY
• Anxiety is a response that is learned when a danger signal is
perceived. The danger signal is previously paired with a
situation which naturally produces a negative reaction, either
through direct exposure, modeling or vicarious learning.
• With air travel having become increasingly common, more
people are exposed to associated stress. Many travellers are
close to their stress tolerance levels before they board the
flight.
• Air travel- related anxieties can be divided into pre-, post- &
in-flight categories, with each having recognized stressors.
 Passengers may be affected by no of
factors:
• Changed Environment
• Loss of family support
• Exposure to cultural & social change
• Fear of the unknown

• Loss of control of one’s destiny

• Powerlessness (Lucas, 1987)
 FEATURES
The following features , singly & combined, can promote the
anxiety experienced by an air traveller

• Fear of heights
• Fear of enclosed spaces
• Close proximity to others
• Limitations on toilet access
 PANIC ATTACKS
Many factors associated with air travel can act as a trigger for
a panic attack on a plane. These triggers are often associated
with aspects of air travel that can not be changed or altered.
Such as, seating, cabin space and social interaction.

If a passenger feels uncomfortable during plane travel it is

important to control the symptoms of anxiety and panic.
Depending on the trigger for the panic attack on a plane the
treatments may be different
 POST -TRAUMATIC STRESS
Posttraumatic stress disorder (also known as post-traumatic
stress disorder or PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can
develop after exposure to any event that results in
psychological trauma.
This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to
someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical,
sexual, or psychological integrity.
For e.g.: Post-traumatic stress in Plane Crash Survivors
 CASE HISTORY
On a holiday charter flight a panic-stricken teenager refused to
exit the entry steps and enter the cabin. She clung
desperately to hand-rails, ultimately screaming and shoving at
parents and crew trying to calm her and encourage boarding.
Her panic reaction triggered an asthmatic attack. Airport
medical staff advised that she discontinue her journey.
Baggage retrieval and loss of departure slot resulted in a
three-hour delay to take-off, to the disadvantage and angst of
family and fellow travellers.
PILOTS
 Pilot Stress
• A pilot in charge of flying an aircraft is called the pilot in command (PIC)
• The term “pilot error” has been used to describe the causes of accidents. Pilot
error means that an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause, or a
contributing factor that led to the accident.
• Pilots may become involved in family disputes, may disturb have sleep
management disputes, frustrations, had or other worries of daily lives. A pilot
lives a life of deadlines. He/she is under constant pressure to maintain a public
relations image. He/she is exhorted endlessly to be disciplined, responsible,
vigilant, and economically conscious. He/she works under threat of immediate
media spotlight in an incident. Pilots may have to cope with, among other
things in the airline industry, unsafe weather, bad management and
unpredictable schedules etc.
• In aviation, at all phases of flight, pilots are
subjected to different amounts of stress; how
they react when subjected to stress will
ultimately make or break whether the
outcome is a safe and successful flight. The
ability to make effective decisions during flight
can be impaired by stress.
 Sources of Stress
• Physical stressors
• Psychological stressors
• Physiological stressors

The attempt to “be in control” of anything actually

causes “stress.”
Physical Stressors
• Temperature
– High temperature build up in the cockpit/hangar increases perspiration
and heart rate causing overheating of body.
– Low temperature build up causes the body to feel cold, weak and drowsy.
• Changes in air pressure due to turbulence exerts unusual g-forces
on the body and makes it difficult to control the aircraft.
• Vibration transmitted to the body from the aircraft via the seat
makes it difficult to read navigational charts and instruments.
• Poor Lightings at their work area make it difficult to read technical
data and manuals whilst working on the aircraft and the use of
torch lights are also inadequate, increasing the propensity to miss
something important.
• Confined spaces also render maintenance personnel difficult to
perform their tasks as their bodies are sometimes contorted in
unusual positions.
• Poor visibility due to heavy fog and traveling in instrument
meteorological conditions
Physiological Stressors

• Flying when unwell resulting in the body using more

energy fighting the illness and hence less energy to
perform vital tasks.
• Not having proper meals also result in not having enough
energy and induces symptoms like headache and shaking.
• Lack of sleep; Fatigue, the pilot is unable to maintain
performance standards for long periods as he struggling
to stay awake.
• Working long hours without any break especially at busy
airports when handling multiple aircraft departing and
arriving on intersecting and parallel runways
Psychological Stressors
• Work related stressors prior to the mission can
increase arousal due to apprehension but too
much can cause over-anxiousness and failure to
perform up to speed.
• Financial problems such as impending bankruptcy,
recession, loans and mortgages to pay.
• Marital problems due to divorce or strained
relationships due to persistent quarreling.
• Interpersonal problems with superiors and
colleagues due to miscommunication or perceived
competition and backstabbing.
Stressors
Relation between stress and performance
Different amount of workload
 Aeronautical decision making
• Aeronautical decision making (ADM) is a systematic
approach to the mental process used by airplane
pilots to consistently determine the best course of
action in response to a given set of circumstances.
• Traditional pilot training has emphasized flying skills,
knowledge of the airplane, and familiarity with
regulations.
• ADM training focuses on the decision-making
process and the factors that affect a pilot’s ability to
make effective choices.
10/06/1955 Centennial, Wyoming
10/30/1959 Waynesborough,
Virginia
12/14/1962 Burbank, California
04/22/1966 Ardmore, Oklahoma
03/13/1967 East London, South
Africa
01/14/1970 Mt. Pumacona, Peru
06/18/1972 Staines, Surrey, England British European Incapacitation of the captain due to a possible
10/13/1972 Krasnaya, Polyana, USSRAeroflot
02/09/1982 Tokyo, Japan
03/31/1995 Balotesti, Romania
09/04/2000 Near Burketown,
Australia
08/14/2005 Grammatikos, Greece
United AL Incapacitation of crew by carbon monoxide
emanating from a faulty cabin heater.
Piedmont AL Mental breakdown of captain during flight.
Flying Tiger Line Incapacitation of the captain with a heart attack at
a critical point in the approach.
American Flyers AL Incapacitation of the captain with a heart attack
during final stages of approach.
South African AW The captain suffered a heart attack and first officer
could not regain control of aircraft.
Faucett The mental state of the pilot adversely affected his
judgment and efficiency.
AW arterial hemorrhage.
Sudden incapacitation of the crew for reasons
unknown.
Japan AL The captain, known to have mental problems, put
the inboard engines into reverse.
Trans. Aeriene The captain was incapacitated shortly after taking
Rom. off.
Central Air Incapacitation of the captain due to depressurized
cabin and lack of oxygen.
Helios Airways Pressurization failure incapacitated the entire crew.