Definition
Decisions made in response to events as they unfold, rather than in anticipation of them. In the cockpit, reactive decisions occur when the pilot has fallen behind the aircraft and is responding to situations after they develop, instead of planning ahead and shaping outcomes. Reactive decision-making is a recognized symptom of degraded situational awareness.
Plain English
You are reacting to what's happening instead of staying ahead of it. The aircraft is leading you, and you are catching up.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying discussions about losing track of what the aircraft is doing, where it is, or what should happen next.
Derivation
From Latin re- ('back') and agere ('to act') — literally 'to act back' or 'to act in response.' In aviation, this captures the idea of acting only after something has already happened, rather than preparing for it.
Why Pilots Care
Reactive decisions reduce available time for error correction and often increase workload when awareness is already compromised.
Intuition Check
Do not read “reactive” as simply “quick” or “alert.” In this context, it means the pilot is responding after the situation has developed, instead of staying ahead of it.
Example Sentence 1
As the workload built up during the approach, the pilot realized he was making reactive decisions and asked the controller for vectors to buy time.
Example Sentence 2
Loss of SA often forces reactive decisions on altitude and speed that proper planning would have avoided.