AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015 - 20

LICENSE TO LEARN

High anxiety

BY ROD MACHADO

Scaring ourselves out of the cockpit
OVER A 12-YEAR PERIOD, I wrote a question-andanswer column for Flight Training magazine. My
favorite question came from a fellow whose friend
asked him annoying and distracting questions during
takeoff and landing. He lamented that if I were unable
to help him, he would make his buddy, "Chatman,"
wear an oxygen mask in the pattern. I think he had
the better solution. Brav-O!
During that same period, the most common type of
question I received concerned individuals who experienced anxiety over flying. While there are many
reasons pilots experience anxiety, one reason takes
the lead every time. It's called self-doubt.
Last year, a friend (we'll call him Bart) confessed
that the small mistakes he was making in an airplane caused him to question his ability to fly safely.

These were mistakes stemming from the natural
decline in skill that results from a pilot's failure
to train regularly.

ROD MACHADO

is a veteran CFI
who also holds
a degree in
psychology.

20 | AOPA PILOT July 2015

Sometimes he failed to retract flaps after engine start
or scan for traffic as often as he knew he should. Bart
started to wonder if he was on his way to starring in
his own NTSB report. Without realizing it, he was filling his mind with self-doubt, and it was taking a toll
on him.
Yes, Bart was making mistakes, but they weren't
mistakes that would automatically ground a pilot.
These were mistakes stemming from the natural
decline in skill that results from a pilot's failure to train
regularly. The fact that he recognized his mistakes
indicated that his behavior was most likely redeemable. He finally found a way to correct his mistakes
by enrolling in a regular training program. What Bart
didn't do was to apply an antidote to repair the psychic
wound resulting from nearly six months of repetitively
doubting his ability to fly safely.
It's often not enough for someone to evaluate and
correct his (or her) mistakes if those mistakes have
caused him considerable anxiety. If someone allows
ideas into his head that lead to persistent worry, he
had better be prepared to go deep into his noggin, find
those ideas, and put them in their proper place. If he
doesn't, then he's likely to experience varying degrees
of anxiety on subsequent flights. How might a pilot

accomplish this crucial self-evaluation? Several ways
exist, but the most effective method of self-remediation is a close examination of the logic (or illogic)
behind the anxiety-inducing idea.
My strategy with Bart was to have him write down
all the reasons he could think of for the anxiety he felt.
We took every item on his list (believe it or not, a "ramp
check" was on the list), examined it logically, and evaluated its merit. One item on Bart's list concerned his
ability to avoid a midair collision. I made it clear to
him that pilots have been avoiding midair collisions
successfully ever since Orville got out and Wilbur got
in. They did so by using a technique called "see and
avoid." The see-and-avoid technique works when used
properly (it also works for ramp checks, too). Logically
speaking, midair collisions are avoidable if pilots use
the proper strategy.
This antidote applies to any aviation anxiety
inspired by illogical thinking. For instance, one experienced pilot I know allowed himself to entertain the
idea that he might pass when flying alone. He shook
with fear at the thought and finally ceased flying as a
result. It wasn't until I pulled that destructive idea out
of his mind and had him logically examine it that he
realized how unreasonable it was. He had never lost
consciousness before, so why was it likely he would do
so now? Confronting the idea logically helped him find
his way back to the cockpit. (For the record, anxiety
can be a difficult problem to overcome and sometimes
professional help should be considered.)
Many things that cause pilots anxiety are correctable through changes in behavior (think, "additional
training"). However, changing the behavior doesn't
always lead to a decrease in anxiety. Often a pilot
must deal with anxiety as a separate matter. This effort
requires a careful, logical examination of the ideas
that sustain someone's irrational fear. Sometimes the
advice of an experienced pilot can have therapeutic
effects. Sometimes the best thing to do is to use pen
and paper to delineate the issue(s) in question, and
examine it (or them) logically for merit.
Regardless of the method you choose, you have
a responsibility to yourself to hunt down an anxiety-causing idea and attempt to remove its influence
over you.
AOPA
WEB

www.rodmachado.com

http://www.rodmachado.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015