ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM THE COMMANCHE SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
WRITTEN BY EDWINA SHARP
There comes a point in every pilot’s progression when thoughts turn to what you would do if forced down off airport and what you would want to have with you. Many of us call that collection our "survival kit" and tailor it for the conditions expected; the thought being that we will emerge from the airplane relatively unscathed and may need to do some basic first aid and establish some form of shelter while we wait for rescue services to arrive and extract us... and if we have something in the kit to make that period a bit more comfortable so much the better.
But what happens after the rescue is complete and you find yourself physically safe? As pilots we like to stay ahead of the airplane and in general stay ahead of other things which may arise, and part of that involves a fair bit of looking back to look forward. We’ll replay a situation over and over in our heads, we’ll maybe try and recreate what we were doing at a given point in time that could have made things go differently, we might try to find blame and either put it on ourselves or find something (or someone) to point the finger at. It doesn’t even have to be an accident or major incident such as an off-airport landing and rescue to get us to do this; it can be something much less dramatic such as a busted clearance or even something that happens to someone else but we see that it could have happened to us. Then of course there are the truly bad days no one likes to talk about – bent airplanes, injuries, etc… Sometimes this post-event activity may have more of an impact on us than the actual event. Maybe we should consider having a survival kit for this as well.
The airline world and many other aviation (and non-aviation) organizations do. Within aviation it’s known as a Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) and consists of volunteer peers who have been trained in the basics of post-event mental health support and are available to help with processing the post-event stress reactions. The concept goes back to programs originally developed by firefighters who, after callouts involving injuries or fatalities, found that they sometimes needed to talk through things with someone who understood what takes place during a call response, and few mental health professionals met that criteria. What eventually developed was that a group of firefighters arranged for a training in mental health support in order to be able to provide that support to their peers. It then spread to other first responders, and the initial spread into aviation came from a trained first responder reaching out to the airline crew who had been involved in an accident he had responded to.
Within aviation there are several types of “critical incidents” we can be involved in ranging from the major ones such as accidents and incidents resulting in death, injury, or damage to less obvious ones like near misses, experiencing a critical system failure in IMC, runaway trims, or other events which create a perception of potential harm. Basically, if what happened impacts you in a negative way after the immediate situation is over it’s probably been a critical incident for you and it’s important to understand that the “criticality” of a given incident can be different for different people involved and even for the same person at a different time based on multiple other factors than just what happened in the airplane.
A typical CIRP response in the airlines is either initiated by the person involved contacting a known CIRP team member or a call from a CIRP focal once they become aware of an incident. Depending on the timeframe after the incident the focus of the discussion may vary; there are different things to discuss between someone calling minutes or hours after an incident vs one that occurred weeks or months prior. Sometimes a single call is all that’s needed, other times there may need to be multiple interactions. While CIRP is an available resource for many people in aviation it is not universally available, particularly in the GA community. Currently if a GA pilot is involved in a critical incident it’s generally up to them to know that there are resources available and to reach out to those resources.
The primary goal of CIRP is to help people through the initial phases of their response to the incident and provide them with tools and resources to continue managing their own response. After being involved in a critical incident, there are some common reactions which occur as focus shifts from dealing with the incident to mentally working through it. Although the level and timeframe of the reaction is highly dependent on individual circumstances, typical reactions can include things such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, poor attention and problem solving, anger, withdrawal, increased risk taking, substance abuse, etc...
To take a step back to the concept of a survival kit, there are a few key things to have in mind in advance of being involved in a critical incident to help better manage the mental impact from it:
WRITTEN BY EDWINA SHARP
There comes a point in every pilot’s progression when thoughts turn to what you would do if forced down off airport and what you would want to have with you. Many of us call that collection our "survival kit" and tailor it for the conditions expected; the thought being that we will emerge from the airplane relatively unscathed and may need to do some basic first aid and establish some form of shelter while we wait for rescue services to arrive and extract us... and if we have something in the kit to make that period a bit more comfortable so much the better.
But what happens after the rescue is complete and you find yourself physically safe? As pilots we like to stay ahead of the airplane and in general stay ahead of other things which may arise, and part of that involves a fair bit of looking back to look forward. We’ll replay a situation over and over in our heads, we’ll maybe try and recreate what we were doing at a given point in time that could have made things go differently, we might try to find blame and either put it on ourselves or find something (or someone) to point the finger at. It doesn’t even have to be an accident or major incident such as an off-airport landing and rescue to get us to do this; it can be something much less dramatic such as a busted clearance or even something that happens to someone else but we see that it could have happened to us. Then of course there are the truly bad days no one likes to talk about – bent airplanes, injuries, etc… Sometimes this post-event activity may have more of an impact on us than the actual event. Maybe we should consider having a survival kit for this as well.
The airline world and many other aviation (and non-aviation) organizations do. Within aviation it’s known as a Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) and consists of volunteer peers who have been trained in the basics of post-event mental health support and are available to help with processing the post-event stress reactions. The concept goes back to programs originally developed by firefighters who, after callouts involving injuries or fatalities, found that they sometimes needed to talk through things with someone who understood what takes place during a call response, and few mental health professionals met that criteria. What eventually developed was that a group of firefighters arranged for a training in mental health support in order to be able to provide that support to their peers. It then spread to other first responders, and the initial spread into aviation came from a trained first responder reaching out to the airline crew who had been involved in an accident he had responded to.
Within aviation there are several types of “critical incidents” we can be involved in ranging from the major ones such as accidents and incidents resulting in death, injury, or damage to less obvious ones like near misses, experiencing a critical system failure in IMC, runaway trims, or other events which create a perception of potential harm. Basically, if what happened impacts you in a negative way after the immediate situation is over it’s probably been a critical incident for you and it’s important to understand that the “criticality” of a given incident can be different for different people involved and even for the same person at a different time based on multiple other factors than just what happened in the airplane.
A typical CIRP response in the airlines is either initiated by the person involved contacting a known CIRP team member or a call from a CIRP focal once they become aware of an incident. Depending on the timeframe after the incident the focus of the discussion may vary; there are different things to discuss between someone calling minutes or hours after an incident vs one that occurred weeks or months prior. Sometimes a single call is all that’s needed, other times there may need to be multiple interactions. While CIRP is an available resource for many people in aviation it is not universally available, particularly in the GA community. Currently if a GA pilot is involved in a critical incident it’s generally up to them to know that there are resources available and to reach out to those resources.
The primary goal of CIRP is to help people through the initial phases of their response to the incident and provide them with tools and resources to continue managing their own response. After being involved in a critical incident, there are some common reactions which occur as focus shifts from dealing with the incident to mentally working through it. Although the level and timeframe of the reaction is highly dependent on individual circumstances, typical reactions can include things such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, poor attention and problem solving, anger, withdrawal, increased risk taking, substance abuse, etc...
To take a step back to the concept of a survival kit, there are a few key things to have in mind in advance of being involved in a critical incident to help better manage the mental impact from it:
- As pilots we are trained to address items which may occur in flight, as well as may have had exposure to training for what to do in the immediate aftermath. Rarely have we had any direct training in handling our emotional responses from having been through an incident. Just like declaring an emergency in flight, remember that it’s OK to ask for help when you need it.
- Take care of the basics that are in your control...
- Focus in on your existing routines or start new (healthy) ones such as taking an afternoon walk or getting to a more regular sleep pattern; remember that a routine can be as simple as the way you brush your teeth.
- Consider adding foods which have been identified as helping boost brain function and / or mood to your diet. Some examples are fatty fish, bananas, and dark chocolate, and an internet search for “brain food” will quickly come up with many more.
- If you drink, limit or reduce alcohol consumption. While it may be tempting to have a drink or two particularly if you are having trouble sleeping, overall alcohol has a negative impact on quality of sleep as well as the healing process.
- Try to avoid making any major life decisions for a few months.
- Reach out to friends and family even if just to say hello. Many people are hesitant to reach out to someone they know who has been through an incident because they feel they don’t know what to say or will be bothering them. By initiating the conversation, you both re-enable your closest support network and let them know that you’re approachable.
- Keep an eye out for changes in behaviors even if you do not think you are having any, and consider checking in with a trusted friend who knows you well. We tend to have a strong confirmation bias toward everything being fine and an outside perspective can be enlightening.
- If you do end up seeking professional mental health services, try and find one who has experience dealing with pilots and understands how flight medicals may be impacted by their choice of treatment methodology. Remember that your AME may be a good resource for referrals.
- CIRP volunteers have been trained in mental health support but are not licensed mental health professionals.
- CIRP is confidential but, at least in the US, is not a legally privileged conversation.
- The focus is not on the incident itself, but on the involved person’s perception of and response to the incident which varies based on multiple factors.
- There are no fixed timeframes or milestones; while the CIRP volunteer can help facilitate the response, it is up to the involved person to determine the level and duration of their interaction.
