Page 23 - April 2016

Health and medications. Is there anything going on right now that you hope the FAA doesn’t hear about? Are you taking any over-the-counter medications that could affect your coordination, memory and decision- making? Do you feel “under the weather”?Fatigue. When was the last time you got an uninterrupted, eight-hour sleep? How long since you got out of bed on this day? How long will it have been when you shut down the engines at the end of your flight? Do you feel well-rested and alert?Personal stress. Are there external issues that might affect your performance and decision-making? Do you find yourself focusing on family issues or job deadlines, or the presentation or big deal you hope to make on the other end of your coming flight?Environment. Are you taking off into low IMC, low visibility, or night conditions? Are there significant obstacles off the end of the runway or along your departure route? Is the departure ATC frequency likely to be crowded and fast-paced, making it difficult to make and receive calls? Is there a strong crosswind or low-level turbulence?Mindset. Are you simply not thinking about the possibility anything could go wrong, any time you get ready to take off?Any of these factors can impair your response to an emergency, just as readily as the medicines cited in the King Air Probable Cause report. Quickly evaluate them as part of your fitness-for-flight evaluation...and be willing to ground yourself until those factors are again under control.You have two minutes to live every time you advance the power for takeoff; most airplanes take about two minutes from the beginning of the takeoff roll until the airplane is established in climb. Your actions and decisions in those two minutes, done right, will do everything humanly possible to ensure you, your passengers and everyone under your airplane, will live.Realizing that my actions in the first two minutes of takeoff are to make me live, not die, and that I know to PUSH FORWARD and MAINTAIN HEADING at the first sign of trouble, makes it possible for me to confidently push the throttles forward and fly. T&T-•Thomas P. Turner is an ATP CFII/MEI, holds a Masters Degree in Aviation Safety, and was the 2010 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year. Subscribe to Tom’s free FLYING LESSONS Weekly e-newsletter at www.mastery-flight-training.com.SRS Half Page 4/C AdAPRIL 2016TWIN & TURBINE • 21