Helmet fire

"Helmet fire" is an expression for a mental state characterized by unnaturally high stress and task saturation and loss of situational awareness. The term originates in the military pilot community: military pilots are trained in high-performance aircraft and wear helmets to protect their cranium and muffle out engine and wind noise. A fire aboard any aircraft is considered a serious emergency, and the term helmet fire is used jokingly to say that the pilot is undergoing so much stress that his brain is on fire or smoke is coming out of his ears.

Pilots most frequently get task saturated when flying instrument approaches, especially in actual instrument meteorological conditions. A complex procedure must be flown while making radio calls, changing the speed and configuration of the airplane, and maintaining assigned altitudes, all while flying with reference to instruments. When the sum of these tasks in real time exceeds the pilot's capability to deal with them effectively, he becomes task saturated and unable to perform any one of the tasks proficiently. The pilot may lose situational awareness, become confused, disoriented, may stammer on the radio, may forget how to fly the approach or what his last clearance was, and this can rapidly develop into an unsafe situation, in many cases leading to missed approach, airspace violation, midair collision, controlled flight into terrain or any of a number of disasters.

While seasoned pilots occasionally (though rarely) experience helmet fires, they are very commonly seen among student pilots, especially military student pilots who are learning to fly IFR for the first time. Fortunately, the experienced instructor in the aircraft with the student applies Crew Resource Management to keep unsafe situations from developing. However, the episode is always embarrassing to the student.