What you will know
Know what Section 3 asks a candidate to be able to do about the pilot, the crew and the way they work together — the part of the syllabus that is about people rather than aircraft.
Before this lesson
- You know that the examinations are built on , so its sections are the syllabus. TP15263 area3
- You know that Section 3 applies to basic and advanced operations alike. TP15263 area3
How it works
1. How to read the section
Section 3 groups its sample learning objectives under four categories: aviation physiology, the pilot and the operating environment, aviation psychology, the pilot–equipment relationship, and interpersonal relations. The objectives are written as things you must be able to do — describe, list, explain — and, as everywhere in the syllabus, they are printed once per category rather than beside every topic. TP15263 area3
2. Aviation physiology: seeing, hearing, and staying alert
The physiology objectives are about the senses a crew actually flies with: good scanning techniques, visual and audio, for visual observers looking for conflicting aircraft; the "perspective illusion" that misleads a person looking at a distant aircraft; and the factors that affect alertness. TP15263 area3
Hearing has no objective of its own in the table, and the AIM makes the operational point that belongs with it: sound may be the only way to detect other aircraft at night, which is why the crew keeps a sterile environment around the control station and the observers' positions. AIM 3.2.6
The category's remaining topics name the classical risks — orientation and disorientation, body rhythms and jet lag, sleep and fatigue, anaesthetics — and the one structural note is that a subject can be a topic without carrying an objective of its own. TP15263 area3
3. The pilot and the operating environment
This category is the one most often underestimated, and its objective sentence is long because it joins four subjects: the effects of medications and other substances on pilot performance, including lasting effects beyond the initial impairment; the effects of exposure to cold and excessive heat; and the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. TP15263 area3
Note what "including lasting effects beyond initial impairment" does: it rules out the reading that a medication is out of the picture once you no longer feel it. TP15263 area3
4. Aviation psychology, and the equipment relationship
The psychology objectives are decision-making, situational awareness and risk: list the factors that interfere with effective decision-making; list the factors that affect situational awareness; and describe how a given operational risk might be managed. TP15263 area3
The pilot–equipment relationship category is about procedure rather than psychology: the benefits of standard operating procedures and of considering lessons learned from operating experience, and how to manage an interruption to a checklist — the interruption being the ordinary event that turns a checklist into a formality. TP15263 area3
5. Interpersonal relations
The last category is three one-line objectives, and they are about conduct under pressure: resolve differences peacefully; promote open communications; and place safety requirements over hierarchy, position in the organization or politics. TP15263 area3
They are examinable as stated, and the third is the one a scenario question is built on: a client or a manager who wants the flight to go ahead is a pressure, not an authority. TP15263 area3
Your checklist
You are ready for Section 3 questions when you can:
- Describe visual and audio scanning for an observer, and the perspective illusion TP15263 area3
- Say why a sterile environment matters for hearing traffic AIM 3.2.6
- State the effects of medications, including lasting effects, and of heat and cold TP15263 area3
- Recognise the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning TP15263 area3
- List what interferes with decision-making and with situational awareness TP15263 area3
- Explain the benefit of standard operating procedures, and how to handle an interrupted checklist TP15263 area3
- Put safety above hierarchy, and keep communications open TP15263 area3
Where people go wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A topic such as "sleep/fatigue" has no objective beside it | Objectives are printed once per category | Read the category's list TP15263 area3 |
| A medication is judged harmless once the effect wears off | The objective names lasting effects beyond initial impairment | Treat the whole period as impaired TP15263 area3 |
| A question asks which objective covers a task | It is checking knowledge of the requirement | Match the task to the objective wording TP15263 area3 |
| A client asks you to fly anyway | The interpersonal objectives put safety over hierarchy and politics | Resolve it peacefully and keep the safety requirement TP15263 area3 |
Test yourself
Sources
- , Section 3 — Human factors (the sample learning objectives table)
- — Detecting and Avoiding Traffic (hearing traffic; the sterile environment)