1 Background

This Briefing Note (BN) takes a look at how a psychological phenomenon called press-on-itis is related to incidents and accidents. Press-on-itis is simply the decision to continue to the planned destination or toward the planned goal even when significantly less risky alternatives exist. Press-on-itis is also known as “get-home-itis,” “hurry syndrome,” “plan continuation” and “goal fixation.” No matter what it is called, press-on-itis can present a serious problem to flight safety. It is important for a pilot to understand the causes of press-on-itis and to recognize when he or she is suffering from the condition. Knowing the causes and recognizing the symptoms will allow a pilot to recover before anything goes terribly wrong.