Lesson 32: Physical and mental health and hazardous attitudes to avoid 

Welcome! We’re going to learn about how pilots can take care of their health, make smart choices, and have good attitudes. Then, we’ll close this chapter on safety.

So without further ado, let’s talk about our health!

Pilot Aircraft Environment External Pressures

Taking care of your physical and mental health is important in general, but it’s also an important part of being a drone pilot! It helps you stay alert, react quickly, manage stress, and make sound decisions, all of which contribute to safer and more successful drone operations!

Sometimes, it’s hard to know how you’re feeling in the moment, especially when there’s a lot going on and you’re preparing for a mission. Luckily, drone pilots have a checklist for everything–including one to check in with ourselves to make sure we’re fit to fly!

Heads up, the FAA loves to help pilots think about the best ways to stay safe up there. Did you know that airplane pilots use these models, too? The first checklist we’ll take a look at is The PAVE model. It’ll help you check for hazards before a flight.

The PAVE Checklist

1. Pilot
   That's you! You can use the IMSAFE model during this part for a more in-depth check-in. Check in with yourself: How are you feeling? How’s your mood? Have you eaten breakfast?

2. Aircraft
   Have you checked and completed everything on your pre-flight checklist? How’s your sUAS (the drone itself, the control station, your takeoff and landing equipment)? Is your camera securely attached to the drone?

3. Environment
   Think of this as a Vibe Check for the weather & environment. What’s it like? Are you experienced enough to fly in those conditions? What obstacles are around you? Do you have an escape plan if something goes wrong? Have you figured out where to land in case of an emergency?

4. External Pressures Are you feeling stressed or worried? Will this flight make you feel stressed? Is there a hurry to finish the flight? Are there rules and plans in place for safety? Are you honest with yourself about what you can and can't do well?

Our next model called IMSAFE will help you ensure a smooth take-off: it can help you see if you’re in the right physical and mental state to fly!

Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotional / Eating

The I’M SAFE Model Checklist

1. Illness
   Am I feeling ill? Am I under the weather? Is my crew good? If you or someone in your crew is sick and you’re not sure how to proceed, contact an Aviation Medical Examiner! That’s a doctor who checks if pilots and other aviation workers are healthy enough to fly safely.

2. Medication
   Make sure you’re not taking any medication that would alter your state of mind before or while flying. Am I currently taking any medicine (prescription or over-the-counter) that will affect my decision-making skills?

3. Stress
   Drone missions can be super stressful! And stress can impact the way we fly, or lead us to make bad or impulsive decisions. Always ask yourself: Am I stressed out about anything going on in my life?

4. Alcohol
   Drone operations and alcohol don’t mix! Ask yourself: “Have I drank any alcohol within the last 8 to 24 hours?” If so, don’t fly! Note: even if you’re underage, check to see if any medication you might have taken contains alcohol in it.

5. Fatigue
   Have you ever stayed up really late one night gaming or working on a project, and then feel really weird the next day? Did you know that being tired and fatigued can also mess with your drone operation? So, ask yourself: Am I tired? Have I slept well recently?

6. Emotional (or Eating)
   Check in with yourself emotionally. Did you or a crew member get annoyed with how a drone operation went? Ask yourself: Have I calmed down from anything upsetting that has happened recently? Have I eaten enough (healthy food)?

As the pilot, you are always responsible for determining whether you are fit to fly, and these models can help you know if you are! Which tip was the most helpful or surprising?

We’re really starting to see all these checklists for pilots in action. Great work! Now, let’s cover the last one. The third checklist we’ll look at is the DECIDE model. It’ll help you handle difficult situations during flight.

The DECIDE Model Checklist
Detect, Estimate, Choose, Identify, Do, Evaluate

1. Detect the issue. Hmm… What’s the problem? What’s causing it?

2. Estimate how much you need to react or respond to the change. Hmm… Is this a severe problem? How fast will I need to act?

3. Choose what a good outcome would be for this flight or situation. Hmm… The best outcome would be if this happened.

4. Identify which actions you need to take to control the change successfully. Hmm… If I did this, that could solve this problem.

5. Do it! Do the thing. Do take the necessary actions. All right. Now that I know what to do to solve this, I’ll do it.

6. Evaluate the effects of the action you took. Hmm… Was my response and approach effective? Could I do it differently next time?

These are such great tips to help us stay calm and think quickly in situations that could be super stressful! Let’s illustrate the DECIDE model in action.

Let's say you are piloting a drone with your crew to capture aerial videos of a new house for a real estate project. Suddenly, you notice that the drone is starting to drift towards a group of trees due to a strong gust of wind! Here's how you can use the DECIDE model to handle this situation:

Step 1: Detect 

You observe that the drone is moving towards the trees because of the wind. "I see the drone is drifting towards those trees because of the wind."

Step 2: Estimate 

Consider what might happen if the drone continues on its current path. "If the drone keeps drifting, it could crash into the trees and get damaged!"

Step 3: Choose 

Decide on the best course of action to avoid the trees. "I need to adjust the drone's flight path to steer it away from the trees."

Step 4: Identify 

Figure out what specific actions you need to take to correct the situation. "I'll need to increase the altitude and adjust the direction to move the drone away from the trees."

Step 5: Do 

Implement the chosen course of action. For example, you use the remote control to increase the drone's altitude and steer it away from the trees.

Step 6: Evaluate 

Assess whether your actions successfully resolved the issue. "The drone is now safely away from the trees and back on its intended flight path. The footage is still being captured smoothly."

Great work! Using The DECIDE model can get us out of pickles and tricky situations. Phew! You’ve done a great job so far! Let’s take a much-deserved break.

Welcome Back, future pilot!

Standard Operating Procedures – And Hazardous Attitudes –

Awesome! All right, let’s talk about a strategy that should help put you at ease when you’re planning a drone mission.

As drone pilots, we can make our drone missions safe and efficient by using Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs. Hold on – What’s an SOP?

It’s time to peel the onion! These are basically a set of rules that tell us how to do our jobs correctly every time we fly. It’s key term time!

Standard Operating Procedures are like guidelines that help pilots ensure consistency, safety, and efficiency by listing the correct steps, actions, and responsibilities of everyone involved in the mission. They’re the standards by which every pilot – and crew member on board – should operate!

You want to use Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at every point in your drone mission. Your pre-flight SOPs should include inspecting your equipment, conducting a site survey, and briefing your crew. Your in-flight SOPs should include monitoring the flight and communicating with crew members. And finally, your post-flight SOPs can include data collection and a debrief. You should also always have emergency SOPs so everyone is on the same page in case an emergency would occur!

And finally, let’s talk about The 5 Hazardous Attitudes that are described by the FAA. The FAA says that there are 5 bad attitudes we should avoid having because they can cause dangerous things to happen!

What do you think is a bad attitude to have when you’re working with a team of people? Can you think of any examples?

Nice answers! Let’s talk about how bad attitudes can affect drone missions: 

The 5 Hazardous Attitudes!

Macho →” I take risks to look cool. 

Anti-authority → “Don’t tell me what to do!” 

Impulsivity → “Whatever, let’s do something quickly!” 

Invulnerability → “It won’t happen to me.” 

Resignation → “What’s the use?”

Let’s learn about this with a game! Think of it as an improvisational or acting exercise, where we act out what some of these attitudes might look like. You’ll be working in small groups to act out one of these attitudes. Then, your partner will provide the ‘antidote’ – the opposite way to think.

In pairs discuss which hazardous attitude you will act out. Choose who will display the hazardous attitude, and who will provide the antidote.

Step 1: Come up with a short and improvised scenario or conversation that displays the attitude you chose. 

Step 2: Suggest an antidote to the hazardous attitude.

Example: Anti-Authority Attitude "Yeah, I’m going to fly directly under that cloud, I don’t care! Look at me!”

Example: Anti-Authority Antidote "Hey, I get that you're confident in your skills, but following the regulations keeps everyone safe. You won’t see your drone if it’s in a cloud! Let's make sure we're all on the same page. The rules were made for a reason.”

Great work today, crew! Remember to always check yourself and your crew for these attitudes before you fly!

Great work! I see you’re all a few steps closer to becoming a certified drone pilot.

Congrats, grad and future pilot!!!

You should be so proud of yourself!

What are your plans after this class?

Good luck out there!

Over and Out