Situational Awareness Obstacles to Maintaining Situational Awareness  discipline, and training that each safe flight earns. It is  important to understand options available to decrease  workload. For example, setting a radio frequency may be  delegated to another pilot or to a passenger, freeing the pilot  to perform higher-priority tasks. thing a pilot should do is make sure the helicopter is under  control, then begin flying to an acceptable landing area.  Only after the first two items are assured should a pilot try  to communicate with anyone. Another important part of managing workload is recognizing  a work overload situation. The first effect of high workload  is that a pilot begins to work faster. As workload increases,  attention cannot be devoted to several tasks at one time, and  a pilot may begin to focus on one item. When a pilot becomes  task saturated, there is no awareness of additional inputs from  various sources, so decisions may be made on incomplete  information, and the possibility of error increases.  In addition to learning to make good aeronautical decisions,  and learning to manage risk and flight workload, SA is an  important element of ADM. SA is the accurate perception  and understanding of all the factors and conditions within  the four fundamental risk elements (PAVE) that affect safety  before, during, and after the flight. SA involves being aware  of what is happening around you, in order to understand how  information, events, and your own actions will impact your  goals and objectives, both now and in the near future. Lacking  SA or having inadequate SA has been identified as one of  the primary factors in accidents attributed to human error. A very good example of this is inadvertent IMC. Once entering  into bad weather, work overload can occur immediately.  Mentally, the pilot must transition from flying outside of the  aircraft to flying inside the aircraft. Losing all visual references  can cause sensory overload and the ability to think rationally  can be lost. Instead of trusting the aircraft’s instruments, pilots  may try to hang onto the few visual references that they have,  and forget all about all other factors surrounding them. Instead  of slowing the helicopter down they increase airspeed. This  can be caused by an oculogravic illusion. This type of illusion  occurs when an aircraft accelerates and decelerates. Inertia  from linear accelerations and decelerations cause the otolith  organ to sense a nose-high or nose-low attitude. Pilots falsely  perceive that the aircraft is in a nose-high attitude. Therefore,  pilots increase airspeed. Pilots can also be looking down for  visual references and forget about the hazards in front of  them. Finally, since the pilots are not looking at the flight  instruments, the aircraft is not level. All of this can be avoided  by proper training and proper planning. If going inadvertent  IMC is your only course of action, pilots must commit to it  and fly the helicopter using only the flight instruments and not  trying to follow the few visual references they have.  SA in a helicopter can be quickly lost. Understanding the  significance and impact of each risk factor independently  and cumulatively aid in safe flight operations. It is possible,  and all too likely, that we forget flying while at work. Our  occupation, or work, may be conducting long line operations,  maneuvering around city obstacles to allow a film crew  access to news events, spraying crops, ferrying passengers  or picking up a patient to be flown to a hospital. In each case  we are flying a helicopter. The moment we fail to account for  the aircraft systems, the environment, other aircraft, hazards,  and ourselves, we lose SA.  To maintain SA, all of the skills involved in SRM are  used. For example, an accurate perception of pilot fitness  can be achieved through self-assessment and recognition  of hazardous attitudes. A clear assessment of the status of  navigation equipment can be obtained through workload  management, while establishing a productive relationship  with ATC can be accomplished by effective resource use. What distractions interfere with our focus or train of thought?  There are many. A few examples pertinent to aviation, and  helicopters specifically, follow. Fatigue, frequently associated with pilot error, is a threat to  aviation safety because it impairs alertness and performance.  [Figure 13-7]  The term is used to describe a range of  experiences from sleepy or tired to exhausted. Two major  physiological phenomena create fatigue: circadian rhythm  disruption and sleep loss.  Many helicopter jobs require scheduling flexibility,  frequently affecting the body’s circadian rhythm. You  13-13 These key elements reduce stress and increase the pilot’s  ability to fly safely. They depend upon the experience,  It is important for a pilot to understand how to decrease  workload by: When a work overload situation exists, a pilot needs to: • Stop, • Think, •  Slow down, and then • Prioritize. •  Placing a situation in the proper perspective, •  Remaining calm, and •  Thinking rationally.