Originally Posted by
sonicbum
It all depends on the tone and environment You set for the session. If You clarify beforehand that the whole session is training and confidence building then startle scenarios are fine, as long as everyone gets out of the box with a smile and learning points.
Modern training is deviating from events training and moving towards competencies training. Any scenario you run can fit this purpose and it’s just a means to an end, ie. develop resilience. As pilots we need to be able to handle the unexpected rather than a set of well defined scenarios.
Absolutely!
One of the major outcomes of the currents moves towards EBT (exposure) style training is to help to “know thyself”. When faced with an unknown situation, we all react differently - and the range of these differences can be extreme. If there is any doubt about this, read the thread on the Altlas B767 crash where the NTSB docket reveals the reaction of the First Officer when the TOGA buttons were inadvertently activated as the Captain selected flap. The Captain’s apparent (lack of) reaction to the First Officer’s actions is also instructive.
Appropriate exposure to unexpected and previously unseen events in a TRAINING (as opposed to check) environment allows us to experience our own reactions / feelings / emotions when we face a, possibly time critical, unknown / unseen situation. (Anyone who has done hypoxia training will recognise the value of exposure to one’s own unique symptoms).
Resilience is about bouncing back after a disruption. As we have seen the problem, particularly with modern automated aircraft, a critical disruption (the one that is most likely to get you) is likely to be one that you haven't experienced before. Why - because our natural tendency towards uncertainty avoidance, causes stress to increase massively when we are not sure of what to do. Our natural tendency to quickly “pattern match”, which is the way we normally deal with events, may well be just the wrong thing to do. EBT style training Does not only not only reinforce how to deal with specific “events” but, by appropriate exposure, helps us to recognise our own cognitive biases (and those of our fellow crew members) and to develop strategies to manage them.
(”Please run the checklist for when there is no checklist”).
FlySafe
PJ88