Definition
One of the five hazardous attitudes identified by the FAA, characterized by a pilot's belief that they have no real influence over the outcome of a situation, leading them to accept events passively rather than take corrective action. The recognized antidote is the thought: 'I am not helpless. I can make a difference.'
Plain English
The 'what's the use?' attitude. The pilot gives up trying to fix or improve the situation because they feel nothing they do will change the outcome.
Context Anchor
Seen in hazardous attitude training, especially when discussing the “What’s the use?” attitude and its antidote.
Derivation
From the Latin resignare, meaning 'to give back' or 'unseal.' Over time it came to mean handing something over or letting it go. In this aviation context, the pilot is effectively handing the outcome over to fate instead of taking command of the aircraft.
Why Pilots Care
Leads pilots to skip corrective actions in deteriorating conditions, turning manageable problems into accidents.
Intuition Check
Do not read resignation here as simply “quitting” or “stepping down.” In this FAA context, it means giving up mentally and assuming your actions cannot make a difference.
Example Sentence 1
When the engine began running rough, the pilot caught himself thinking 'there's nothing I can do' and recognized that resignation was setting in, so he ran the troubleshooting checklist instead.
Example Sentence 2
After the engine failure, resignation caused the student to stop troubleshooting and simply wait for impact.