Six-Foot Hole – Eight-Foot Ladder.

If we have two things in common, it’s that we are all human and we all make mistakes. As the saying goes, nobody’s perfect.

If there is one thing that I have noticed since becoming a simulator instructor, it is the difference in how pilots deal with mistakes. There are a few who cannot put the mistake behind them and focus on the task at hand, but they are in the minority. In fairness, the pressure of a simulator check can induce uncharacteristic responses from crews due to the accumulated anticipation and stress prior to the day. This definitely differs from the stress of a genuine problem in flight that arrives without notice.

As pilots and human beings, we have to recognise and accept our mistakes. Once made, we can’t change the past, nor can we hide from them. All we can control is how we subsequently address them and the best outcomes tend to occur the sooner that this is done. Once we’ve reached that point, we can start our recovery. It may not be the tidy solution we had originally planned but it may still get us to our desired state safely.

At times the most difficult part is recognising that we have spiralled down a rabbit hole. Our unconscious biases can send us down the wrong path in the first place and then accelerate our descent once we are there. Consequently, there is a lot to be said for the “power of the pause” and critically questioning our plan at regular intervals.

Making a mistake in the simulator or in our day-to-day lives is not a terminal state. It is bound to happen. In the end, it is actually an opportunity to reflect and improve. Success doesn’t inherently call upon us to improve – failure does.

As I was once told, “It’s OK to dig yourself a six-foot hole – as long as you have an eight-foot ladder”.