Definition
A fatigue-related lapse in which a pilot fails to retain or recall information they encountered only moments earlier, such as a clearance, frequency, altitude assignment, or checklist item just read or heard.
Plain English
You forget things you just heard or just did, even though they only happened seconds or minutes ago.
Context Anchor
Seen in fatigue discussions, especially when judging whether a pilot or student is still alert enough to keep training or flying safely.
Derivation
‘Spotty’ means uneven or patchy — working in some places and failing in others. ‘Short-term memory’ is the brain’s ability to hold information for a short period (seconds to minutes). Together the phrase describes a memory that works in patches: some things stick, others vanish.
Why Pilots Care
It directly impairs a pilot's ability to maintain situational awareness and increases the chance of operational errors.
Grounding Statement
A pilot may hear something clearly, but a few moments later only part of it is still available in memory.
Intuition Check
Spotty short-term memory does not mean the pilot is careless or unintelligent. In this context, it means fatigue may be making recent information unreliable.
Example Sentence 1
After the third leg of the day, the pilot noticed spotty short-term memory — he had to ask ATC twice for the same clearance — and decided to call it a day.
Example Sentence 2
Spotty short-term memory appeared during the cross-country leg after several hours of continuous flying.