It’s a plan continuation bias, which is an unconscious cognitive bias to continue the original plan in spite of changing conditions.

I got to learn this one from my boyfriend from an analysis video of the plane crash Turkish Cargo flight 6491

As you approach the end of an activity, like nearing your destination, studies reveal a heightened bias hindering pilots from recognizing the need to change their course. This unconscious bias, often unnoticed, also blocks subtle cues indicating changed conditions. In such scenarios, situational awareness becomes compromised, obscuring the impending outcome for the pilot. Rapidly changing conditions play a significant role in these cases.

The University of Illinois study delves into the coupling of plan continuation bias with confirmation bias, where individuals tend to seek cues supporting established hypotheses and ignore those backing competing beliefs. These human factors can accumulate, posing challenges.

Plan continuation bias aligns with the tendency for reactive responding over proactive thinking, exacerbating issues once on the wrong path. As biases strengthen, task saturation sets in, situational awareness diminishes, and the pilot becomes defensively reactive, losing the ability to think ahead.