ATC Challenges and Stressors 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which condition is most likely to cause a controller to experience cognitive overload during a busy traffic push?
- Monitoring a single aircraft on a long cruise segment
- Simultaneously managing multiple aircraft at conflicting altitudes during weather deviations (Correct answer)
- Issuing a single taxi clearance to a departing aircraft
- Coordinating a gate change with airline operations
Correct answer: Simultaneously managing multiple aircraft at conflicting altitudes during weather deviations
Simultaneous management of multiple aircraft with conflicting clearances during weather deviations places maximum demand on working memory and decision-making capacity.
Question 2: A controller notices they have been working a sector for 3.5 hours without a break. According to FAA fatigue mitigation guidance, what is the recommended maximum continuous time on position?
- 2 hours (Correct answer)
- 4 hours
- 6 hours
- 8 hours
Correct answer: 2 hours
FAA Order 7210.3 recommends controllers not work a single position continuously for more than 2 hours to mitigate fatigue effects.
Question 3: What is 'plan continuation bias' as it applies to ATC stress management?
- The tendency to continue with an original clearance plan even when new information suggests it should change (Correct answer)
- The habit of issuing clearances in the same order every shift
- Preference for departure traffic over arrival traffic
- Using the same phraseology regardless of pilot response
Correct answer: The tendency to continue with an original clearance plan even when new information suggests it should change
Plan continuation bias causes controllers to maintain their original mental plan even as developing situations indicate that a revised approach is needed.
Question 4: During a night shift, a controller experiences microsleeps. What is the MOST dangerous aspect of microsleeps in an ATC environment?
- They cause headaches that reduce concentration
- The controller remains unaware they have lost consciousness briefly (Correct answer)
- They are easily detected by supervisors monitoring the sector
- They only occur during low-traffic periods
Correct answer: The controller remains unaware they have lost consciousness briefly
Microsleeps are dangerous because the individual is unaware they have occurred, meaning critical information or calls may be entirely missed without the controller realizing it.
Question 5: A runway incursion narrowly avoided by controller intervention is classified as a critical incident. Which program is specifically designed to provide ATC employees peer support after such events?
- ASRS (Aviation Safety Reporting System)
- ATSAP (Air Traffic Safety Action Program)
- CIS (Critical Incident Stress) Program (Correct answer)
- HIMS (Human Intervention Motivation Study)
Correct answer: CIS (Critical Incident Stress) Program
The FAA's Critical Incident Stress (CIS) Program provides trained peer supporters to help controllers process trauma following serious incidents.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'startle effect' in ATC operations?
- A controller's surprise when traffic volume unexpectedly decreases
- An involuntary physiological and psychological response to a sudden, unexpected event that temporarily degrades performance (Correct answer)
- The reaction of pilots when they receive an unexpected reroute
- A training technique used to test controller readiness
Correct answer: An involuntary physiological and psychological response to a sudden, unexpected event that temporarily degrades performance
The startle effect is an involuntary response to sudden unexpected stimuli that can momentarily impair a controller's cognitive and motor performance.
Question 7: A controller working approach control receives simultaneous TCAS resolution advisories from two aircraft on converging paths. The MOST appropriate initial action is to:
- Issue climb instructions to both aircraft immediately
- Monitor the situation and wait for pilots to report their actions before issuing any clearance
- Coordinate with the adjacent sector before taking any action
- Issue traffic alerts and avoid giving instructions that conflict with the TCAS RAs the pilots are following (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Issue traffic alerts and avoid giving instructions that conflict with the TCAS RAs the pilots are following
Controllers must not issue clearances that conflict with a TCAS RA being followed; instead, they should issue traffic advisories and acknowledge that pilots are responding to RAs.
ATC Challenges and Stressors 2
Which condition is most likely to cause a controller to experience cognitive overload during a busy traffic push?