Definition
A scanning error in instrument flying where the pilot stares at a single instrument for too long instead of moving the eyes systematically across the full instrument panel. The pilot's gaze becomes locked on one indicator -- often the attitude indicator or altimeter -- causing other instruments to go unmonitored and trends elsewhere to be missed.
Plain English
Getting stuck looking at one instrument for too long while flying on instruments, instead of keeping your eyes moving across all of them.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when learning to scan the panel and control pitch by comparing several instrument indications.
Derivation
From Latin 'fixus' meaning fastened or fixed in place. Here it describes the eyes becoming 'fastened' to one instrument when they should be moving freely across several.
Why Pilots Care
Fixations cause loss of situational awareness, altitude or heading deviations, and can lead to loss of control in instrument meteorological conditions.
Analogy
It is like driving while staring only at the speedometer. The speed may be important, but if your eyes stay there, you stop noticing the road, the lane, and the traffic around you.
Intuition Check
Do not read “fixation” here as just strong interest or concentration. In instrument flying, it means attention is stuck too long on one instrument, and that is a scan error. Do not read “cross-check” as a one-time check. Here it means an ongoing comparison of instruments while flying.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor noticed the student's fixation during cross-check on the attitude indicator and reminded her to keep scanning the heading indicator and altimeter as well.
Example Sentence 2
Fixations during cross-check caused the aircraft to drift unnoticed in both altitude and heading.