Decision Making in Aviation

Decision-making in the cockpit has a direct relationship with the safety of operations. But not only does it affect pilots of all levels, but it also involves many more people involved in the process.

Decision-making is a process, and as such, it requires a series of logical steps to achieve the goal. This process occurs unconsciously in our brain in a fraction of a second. As human beings, we constantly make decisions, we decide what to eat, what clothes to wear, with which hand we caress our hair, or simply on which side we turn our heads when we hear a sound and react to this stimulus. All these actions are preceded by an unconscious process of the brain where in a fraction of a second all the options were analyzed and the most appropriate one was chosen.

In aviation, the pilot constantly makes operational decisions, from the first hour of flight to the last at the end of his career. In this work, we will analyze all the variables that could affect the decision-making process, seeking to learn the tools to minimize the error during this process. An indispensable book for every pilot, regardless of their level of experience.