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A go-around is not a preferred event, nor oftentimes a procedurally simple one, but a go-around would be better than plowing into the offending plane, re truck or wildlife.
correct departure runway by using the compass and checking the runway number painted on the surface. And when landing, whether in VMC or IMC, we should use all available navaids and visual cues to verify we are lined up on the correct runway.
Expectation Bias
Expectation bias is a double-edged sword. It is what allows us to understand a busy radio frequency when a non-pilot can’t, it allows us to copy a complex clearance when a newbie would be lost, and it is what gives us our Spidey-Pilot-Sense (SPS—like ESP only better) when the poo hits the fan.
We have learned what should come next, what to expect in a sequence of events and the logical and likely events that follow certain things. It is also what makes us taxi the wrong way, stop at the wrong spot and makes tower tell us to “standby to copy a phone number.”
When the taxi route that we have used many times before, or the route we were expecting to hear as the most logical route, is not the one that they actually give us, our expectation bias (SPS) bites us in the behind and we mistakenly think that we heard what we were expecting to hear.
Chocks to Chocks
Like a tailwheel airplane, we need to fly our airplanes from chocks to chocks. Consult the airport diagram before and dur- ing taxi, write down and read back all instructions and look for hot spots on airport diagrams. Maintain a sterile cockpit: con- versations should be restricted to taxi operations. Heads-down activities like copying a clearance, programming the avionics or talking to the back-seat passengers should be avoided.
Over half of all incursions may be caused by us pilots and we certainly don’t want to hear “standby to copy a phone num- ber.” However, 35 percent of the time it’s ATC. So even when we write it down and follow the clearance, there may be an incursion. It could be due to tower, ground, a critter o•r another pilot following their clearance. If the hair is standing up on your neck or you’re not sure, stop the airplane and get clarification.
Then look both ways before stepping off the curb, lest you and your Spidey-Pilot-Sense get squished like a grape. T&T
Kevin Dingman has been flying for more than 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737 and DC9 with 23,000 hours in his logbook. A retired Air Force major, he flew the F-16 and later performed as an USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian orga- nization Wings of Mercy, is employed by a major airline, and owns and operates a Beechcraft Duke. Contact Kevin at dinger10d@gmail.com.
Paci c Coast Avionics 1/3 page vertical www.PCA.aero
April 2018
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