ATPL(A) 040 Human PerformanceRevision notes and practice questions

040 Human PerformanceFree sample, 10 questions

1. 1While descending through 18 000 ft, the Pilot in Command runs the entire descent checklist from memory, which does not comply with the company's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). According to the Threat and Error Management model, what would be an effective countermeasure by the co-pilot?

   1. Ask ATC for a level-off and challenge the Commander about the procedure deviation.
   2. Wait for a safe phase of flight to discuss the deviation and, after an uneventful landing, report it to the company's safety department.
   3. Ignore the procedure deviation to preserve a good cockpit atmosphere. The aircraft lands uneventfully.
   4. Notice the procedure deviation and insist on using the company's checklist to be sure that all items are checked.
   Show the answer

   Answer D. Doing a checklist from memory is an SOP deviation, and the whole point of TEM is to trap the error before it becomes an undesired aircraft state. The co-pilot should speak up at once and have the written checklist read so that no item is missed. Waiting until after landing leaves the error untrapped during the most critical phase, ignoring it defeats cross-monitoring, and asking ATC for a level-off adds workload without fixing the problem.

2. 2Alcohol taken at the same time as medication may...

   1. increase the rate of alcohol elimination from the blood.
   2. compensate for side effects of drugs.
   3. show undesired effects only during night flights.
   4. intensify the effects of the medication.
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   Answer D. Alcohol interacts with many drugs: it adds to the sedative effect of antihistamines, sleeping pills or painkillers and can change how quickly a medicine is broken down by the liver. The result is usually a stronger or unpredictable effect, never a cancellation of side effects. Alcohol is eliminated at a roughly constant rate that medication does not speed up.

3. 3On a long-haul flight, about 35 minutes into the cruise with the autopilot engaged, the crew realise they have not actively checked the instruments for the last 10 minutes. They recognise the signs of hypovigilance. Hypovigilance...

   1. Can be the consequence of a low cognitive workload, where attention becomes focused on specific items or tasks, especially in a highly automated cockpit during the cruise.
   2. Is a result of boredom, and is associated with a low cognitive workload; it is therefore common to enter a state of hypovigilance during a high-workload task such as monitoring during the cruise.
   3. Is likely to result in automation complacency, because monitoring is a low cognitive workload task that leads to low stress levels.
   4. Is likely to occur during the cruise as effective monitoring has a high cognitive workload but is unrewarding, and can result in a passive attitude.
   Show the answer

   Answer A. Hypovigilance is a drop in alertness that develops when the workload is low and the task monotonous, as in an automated cruise. Attention drifts or fixes on a few items while the general monitoring scan breaks down. Monitoring is a low-workload task, not a high one, which rules out the options describing it as demanding. Automation complacency is a related but distinct problem rooted in over-trust in the system, not in low stress.

4. 4Which statement about errors is correct for an effective safety culture?

   1. Those committing the errors need to be severely punished.
   2. Errors should be blamed on external factors beyond the individual's control.
   3. Errors need to be discussed openly.
   4. Errors should be ignored and not addressed.
   Show the answer

   Answer C. An effective safety culture relies on people reporting and talking about their mistakes so that the organisation can learn and fix the underlying causes. Harsh punishment drives errors underground, while blaming outside factors or ignoring errors removes any chance of correcting them.

5. 5When flying in gradually deteriorating visibility, which strategy helps the pilot avoid spatial disorientation?

   1. Rely increasingly on the indications of the flight instruments.
   2. Reduce environmental factors such as stress and distractions.
   3. Trust the body's kinaesthetic sense of movement.
   4. Keep head and eye movements to a minimum.
   Show the answer

   Answer A. As external visual references fade, the vestibular and 'seat of the pants' senses take over, and they are easily fooled by accelerations and prolonged turns. The only reliable reference is the flight instruments, so the pilot should transfer to them early and trust them. Limiting head movement helps against the Coriolis effect but does not provide a reference, and trusting body sensations is exactly what causes disorientation.

6. 6Which of the following are types of human error?

   1. Slips, violations, error of commission, alcohol.
   2. Omissions, violations, error, alcohol.
   3. Faults, slips, omissions, violations.
   4. Environmental capture, slow speech, slips, breaking the law.
   Show the answer

   Answer C. Classic error classifications list slips (right plan, wrong execution), omissions (a step left out), faults or mistakes (wrong intention correctly carried out) and violations (deliberate departures from the rules). Alcohol is a factor that can cause errors, not a type of error, and slow speech is neither. Each wrong option slips one such item in among genuine error types.

7. 7In which order does light pass through the parts of the human eye?

   1. Cornea, lens, retina, iris/pupil
   2. Cornea, iris/pupil, lens, retina
   3. Iris/pupil, retina, lens, cornea
   4. Iris/pupil, cornea, lens, retina
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   Answer B. Light first crosses the transparent cornea, which does most of the refraction, then the pupil, the opening whose size the iris adjusts to the light level. It is then focused by the lens, whose shape the ciliary muscles change, and finally lands on the retina, where rods and cones convert it into nerve signals. The retina is always last, and the cornea is the outermost layer, so it always comes first.

8. 8What level of noise exposure can cause Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)?

   1. Exposure to sudden, low frequencies below 20 Hz and/or continuous, high frequencies above 20 kHz.
   2. Exposure to loud, intense sounds above 85 dB and low, continuous frequencies below 20 Hz.
   3. Exposure to continuous, high frequencies above 10 kHz and intense sounds above 120 dB.
   4. A one-time exposure to impulse noise above 120 dB and/or continuous exposure to noise above 85 dB.
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   Answer D. Noise-induced hearing loss comes from damage to the hair cells of the cochlea. It can follow prolonged exposure to levels above about 85 dB (for example 8 hours a day) or a single impulse noise above about 120 dB, such as an explosion. Frequencies below 20 Hz or above 20 kHz lie outside the audible range, and it is the intensity and duration, not the frequency alone, that cause the damage.

9. 9During periods of high workload, using "professional language" can...

   1. Reduce the effects of stress on the crew.
   2. Lead to a loss of respect between crew members.
   3. Reduce crew synergy.
   4. Increase tension within the crew.
   Show the answer

   Answer A. Professional language uses standard terms and phraseology known to every crew member, so messages are short, predictable and hard to misunderstand. Under high workload this saves time and mental effort and reduces the need for clarification, which lowers the stress on the crew. It supports crew synergy and mutual respect rather than eroding them.

10. 10According to James Reason, an organisation that collects and analyses relevant safety data corresponds to which component of safety culture?

    1. Learning
    2. Just
    3. Reporting
    4. Informed
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    Answer D. Reason's safety culture has five parts: informed, reporting, just, flexible and learning. An informed culture is one where the organisation gathers and analyses safety data so that managers and staff know the current hazards and how the system is performing. Reporting is the willingness of people to submit reports, and learning is the ability to draw conclusions and change from that information, so they build on the informed culture rather than being the data collection itself.