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That sense can also be your subconscious telling you that you just added what may be the last straw to your load of troubles. The sinking feeling then comes when you admit to yourself that even though you got away with it before, this time it looks pretty bad. When you find yourself think- ing that you shouldn’t have done something, recollect the “rather be on the ground than in the air” proverb. Another possibility is the “not having a precursor at all” scenario. It’s the type of incident where the proficient pilot never saw it coming – they had no clue. This type should scare the Jiminy Cricket out of you because it’s out there waiting for all of us. It can happen for lack of knowledge, experience or simple inattention. It could also be a piece of equipment breaking that is never supposed to break. This prospect is the one that should convince you to always keep your ducks in a row so that when it does happen, you aren’t burdened by unnecessary, previously accumulated risk. A third possibil- ity is that you did, in fact, recognize an impending incident but allowed it to progress from benign to dangerous because corrective action was too late or incorrect.
Get-Er-Done-Itis
As Pilot in Command, we are accustomed to the never- give-up mentality. We have to be. After all, when you hit a gust of wind on short final you don’t release the controls, throw your hand into the air and exclaim, “I quit, I can’t do this anymore.” Or, if the landing gear will not extend, you don’t accept a gear-up landing without first accomplishing as much investigation, analysis and checklists as fuel-remaining will allow. We need to be mindful, however, that our get-er- done, get-there-itis persona can put us in a corner. The most difficult decision often comes not when assessing outside factors but when wrestling with ourselves.
After writing a column in which I prodded readers to at- tend Oshkosh AirVenture, I found myself unable to attend due to a maintenance issue. I tried to justify continuing my planned f light even though I knew I shouldn’t. For a bit, I had convinced myself that it may be safe. After all, the airplane had been flying just fine before the issue was uncovered. The coordination and planning for the trip had taken all year, and everyone was expecting me to be there. It’s often tempting to assume more risk than you should when the desire to get there is high. An emotional or financial need to continue can be blinding.
Beyond Our Ability
Icing, wind, low visibility and poor runway conditions are better tolerated once you have experienced their effects. Even so, be cautious to avoid the lure of a get-there-now or go-away choice. Once we have become proficient pilots, the mission is to evaluate the risk of beginning or continuing a flight based on our experience and the capability of the airplane. A student pilot would not fly at night around thun- derstorms to a CAT III instrument landing, for example. But for a 15- or 20,000-hour airline pilot, those conditions are almost routine – just as a night flight to CAT I minimums would be common for a steely-eyed 5,000-hour Citation pilot. For each level of aircraft and pilot capability, there are limits. All adverse factors are cumulative and should be evaluated together. The most experienced pilots will eventually see conditions beyond their ability or that of their equipment. Our task is to recognize those conditions when they occur and act accordingly.
Training is like fighting a gorilla.
You don’t stop fighting when you are tired; you stop when the gorilla is tired.
Engine failure training consists of two parts: Managing the failure and managing the rest of the flight. I strongly recommend that you not practice engine failures during takeoff in the airplane. Save it for the simulator because any realistic takeoff-failure scenario in the airplane is danger- ous. However, using a zero-thrust power setting once above three or four thousand feet and with an instructor is valu- able training. And this is critical: Make sure the surprise factor is there. Practice failures during a turn on the SID, at some point halfway to altitude during a distraction and one while at cruise. These maneuvers should not be considered complete until the engine is (simulated) secured, the airport of intended landing has been selected, and the route to that airport and the approach to be flown have been loaded. Practice flying the airplane at zero-thrust while talking to ATC (your instructor) and loading/programming your GPS/ FMS/FMC. Then in the sim, practice the approach, landing and, if possible in your plane, the single-engine go-around.
24 • TWIN & TURBINE / August 2022