Page 34 - Volume 18 Number 8

by David MillerThat Uneasy FeelingIam a student of aviation accidents. Not an ambulance chaser, mind you, but I do subscribe to all sorts of publications, read on-line accounts, and attend numerous meeting and seminars about the subject. I spend way too much time wondering what I would do under the same circumstances. Lately, I have been musing more about just how, as pilots, we get ourselves into bad situations.The vast majority of us are pretty good stick and rudder folks. Indeed, Mother Nature tends to weed out the few that are just awful pilots. Most of us are mentally stable, and we train to fairly high standards on a regular basis. We keep ourselves in relatively good physical shape. Yet, on a continuing basis, we make mistakes that bend airplanes and occasionally hurt people.Some accidents are easier to rationalize. A deer darting onto the runway during a night takeoff. A blown tire at V1. Sometimes “stuff” happens in a split second and it’s just not our day. The success or failure of the event is a function of our instincts, training and pure luck.But what keeps me up at night is thinking about how we often don’t recognize that feeling we get in our gut when things are just not right. Some examples:Landing long on a short runway in VFR weather and sliding off the end into a lake.Continuing a flight into deteriorating weather with amber “low fuel” lights lit.Descending below minimums without the runway environment in sight.Attempting to fly over a building thunderstorm by climbing above the service ceiling of the airplane, with fatal results.The above events are more insidious. They happen over time and are not just the result of bad luck. They involve consciously making multiple decisions that affect the outcome. But I suggest we can reduce these kinds of accidents by developing a method of recognizing a deteriorating situation earlier in the sequence of events.For me, this method is the creation of a “safe word.”It may sound silly, but it would be something I utter out loud, which tells my brain I am wandering into a situation for which I have no reasonable plan.With 5,000-plus hours in his logbook, David Miller has been flying for business and pleasure for more than 40 years. Having owned and flown a variety of aircraft types, from turboprops to midsize jets, Miller, along with his wife Patty, now own and fly a Citation CJ1+. You can contact David at davidmiller1@sbcglobal.net.When flying as a crew, we always have another person to question our thought process. Over the years, my experience in Falcons and Sabreliners often presented opportunities to query the guy in the other seat. One of us would say, “Are you comfortable with this decision?” If not, we went to plan B.But when operating as a single pilot, we usually don’t have that option. Instead, we are often alone to rationalize our actions, make excuses, and wish for better outcomes. Sometimes, that doesn’t work so well.As I descended below minimums into Gunnison (KGUC) last year, I knew something was not right. But, up to that point, I had ground contact during the entire approach. Everything told me that I would be able to make a normal landing. Except that little snow shower at the missed approach point. It took too long for me to make the decision to miss. I couldn’t quickly connect the dots between my queasy feeling and my training.For me, I need a method to make that decision easier and quicker. I need a “safe word” that I instantly use when I begin to feel compromised.Any suggestions? Fly safe.David’s first book, “Confessions of a Very Private Pilot”, is available at: www.universityaviationpressON FINAL32 • TWIN & TURBINE AUGUST 2014