Observing crew behavior, we notice that pilots handle workload priorities differently during taxi-out compared with taxi-in. Since both flight phases involve identical procedures and objectives, we would logically assume that they deserve comparable levels of crew attention and diligence. Instead, we notice that while taxi-out behaviors tend to follow trained standards, many crews choose to engage in discretionary tasks during taxi-in. Let’s examine the flow of immediate and future workload to understand the psychology behind this practice.
Workflow and attention focus before taxi-out: Before taxi-out, we follow a scripted flight preparation process. The procedural sequence includes individually preparing our personal gear, reviewing flight planning products, acquiring clearances, and programming aircraft systems. We then coordinate as a crew to review the ATC clearance, verify flight documentation, complete required checklists, push back from the gate, and start the engines. Analyzing how the workflow changes across this process, notice how our attention focus begins wide and fluid and then steadily narrows until we become fully focused during aircraft taxi. By the time we begin aircraft movement, all necessary tasks are completed and all future tasks are briefed. There is little that we can do to get ahead of future workload demands.
Workflow and attention focus during taxi-in: In many ways, our workload flow and attention focus during taxi-in is opposite of taxi-out. During takeoff and departure, our workload and attention focus steadily decreases. During we descent, approach, and landing, our workload steadily rises and our attention focus increasingly narrows. Following our highest phase of attention focus (landing), we experience a perceptible letdown in our workload (See the Master Pilot Forum Topic 23-9: The Vulnerabilities of the Psychological Letdown for more on this effect). Nestled within this after landing letdown, however, airline pilots face a looming spike in their workload that begins after gate arrival. This spike is higher if we need to park the aircraft or hand it over to the next crew. These leaving-the-aircraft tasks are superimposed over the required gate arrival procedures of parking, transferring aircraft power to the APU/Jetway, engine shutdown, shutdown/parking checklists, unique gate arrival tasks, and completing required paperwork. None of these required procedures can be performed in advance, so there is no way to work ahead. The only tasks that we can potentially complete in advance are flightdeck clean-up and gathering personal items. To get ahead of these tasks, many pilots try to complete some of them while taxiing to the gate. Combine this with the psychological post-landing letdown and we see how our environment creates a feeling of “extra time” that we can use to accomplish a clean-up item or two.
How task accomplishment drifts during taxi-in: Completing a clean-up item or two seems fairly benign, but it is vulnerable to drift over time. Consider a fairly new airline First Officer (FO) and their mindset regarding taxi-in. Following training, they embrace the need to maintain a high level of attention focus during a high Area of Vulnerability (AOV) phase of aircraft movement (See Master Airline Pilot – Chapter 14 – Workload Management Techniques for a detailed explanation of AOVs). They focus their attention on the taxi routing and ground threats as their Captain maneuvers the aircraft. After reaching the gate, they complete all of their required gate arrival procedures. Then, they need to gather up their gear to depart the aircraft. Long before they are finished, their Captains leave the flightdeck. They hurry to finish. Feeling behind feels uncomfortable, so they study their Captains to understand how to work more quickly. They notice that their Captains get a head start in their clean-up tasks while taxiing the aircraft. Maybe they put away their coffee mug. Then they dispose of expired flight planning paperwork, and so on. Their Captains seem to easily manage aircraft movement and successfully arrive safely at the gate. This reinforces an illusion of harmlessness with accomplishing these discretionary tasks. After finishing the gate checklists, their Captains quickly complete a few remaining clean-up tasks and depart. Modeling their example, our new FO begins to experiment with the same discretionary clean-up tasks while enroute to the gate. Nothing seems to go wrong and they get out of the aircraft more quickly, so their discretionary behavior is rewarded. Over time, this process reinforces itself with more time-consuming and attention-absorbing clean-up tasks. With some pilots, it becomes a challenge to see if they can complete all of their clean-up tasks before arriving at the gate.
The forces driving discretionary tasks: As a training standard, we know that we shouldn’t be engaging in discretionary tasks during aircraft movement. Still, we feel a strong urge to do it. One driver behind this is the desire to stay ahead of future high-workload situations. Indeed, this motivation is baked into our procedures and checklists. Over time, it becomes integrated into our perceptions, pacing, and techniques. In anticipation of the demands of taxi-out, takeoff, and departure, we thoroughly plan and brief while at the gate. In anticipation of the demands of descent, approach, and landing, we thoroughly plan and brief while in cruise before top-of-descent. Backload your workload becomes our mantra and a cornerstone of proficiency. Working ahead to compensate for the high-workload gate arrival flight phase feels the same. Unable to perform any shutdown and checklist tasks until parked, the only tasks that we can accomplish early are flightdeck clean-up and personal equipment gathering tasks. Another driver behind this behavior is our discomfort with feeling behind. We hate feeling the need to hurry or rush to catch up. This becomes so strongly hard-wired into our practice that we constantly search for ways to avoid feeling behind. Combine the desire to get ahead of future workload with the wish to avoid feeling behind and the after-landing letdown and we feel strong motivation to engage in discretionary tasks during taxi-in.
The latent vulnerabilities that emerge: For most flights, these discretionary actions don’t lead to problems. Virtually every time, we successfully make our way from the landing runway to our gate without mishap. What we don’t detect are the latent vulnerabilities that bubble below the surface and only emerge when particular conditions interact. Most often, these involve distractions or unanticipated changes that occur while our attention focus is diverted by discretionary tasks. These distractions and changes often prolong our startle reactions and increase the recovery time from disruptions or surprises. Anomalous events that we could normally handle successfully while we are fully attentive veer off toward undesirable outcomes while we are distracted. This is because our time to react or compensate is very short while taxiing. Ideally, we should stop the aircraft, set the parking brake, and sort out the disruption. More often, however, we optimistically press forward with the expectation that we can successfully recover from the disruption without stopping. Thanks to our experience and proficiency, we usually succeed. We might even consider ourselves lucky that we dodged that bullet. What we fail to recognize is that it was that discretionary task that set the stage in the first place. In the end, it is best not to rely on luck or perfect performance to recover from a situation that only became serious because our attention was unnecessarily diverted.
Restoring the desired attention level during aircraft movement: Master Class pilots practice AOV attention discipline and self evaluation. Sure, we have the skills to successfully taxi the aircraft and quickly complete discretionary clean-up tasks, but we choose not to. Anytime the aircraft is dynamically moving, we apply high levels of attention focus. Even though we believe that we can multitask, we choose not to even attempt it. In reality, there is always plenty of time to perform clean-up tasks after completing all of our required gate arrival tasks. We just need to make a conscious commitment to maintain appropriate attention standards and to model those standards with other crewmembers. To counter drift, we constantly assess our performance and look for signs that our personal practice may be drifting. This begins with seemingly harmless slips and shortcuts that help with our workload. Through self introspection, we detect and correct these early deviations to restore our commitment to Master Class standards.
