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over maximum gross weight when it began the flight. The NTSB found the pilot flew “over 30 minutes” after ex- ceeding the PC-12’s maximum fuel im- balance level before beginning to divert, overf lying several suitable airports. The NTSB notes the ex-Air Force and airline pilot was rated at a “very high level” of proficiency in PC-12 training that occurred about two months before the crash.
There’s not much we can do to re- duce the incidence of intentional non- compliance. I doubt it would do much good to list it here anyway as inten- tionally noncompliant pilots probably aren’t reading safety-related articles in Twin & Turbine. The FAA Hotline (https://hotline.faa.gov) gives us a means of reporting violations of the Federal Air Regulations, but without hard evidence the FAA has nothing to go on. Tragi- cally, most investigation of intentionally noncompliant pilots happens only after it’s too late.
Emergency Noncompliance
There’s one more category of non- compliance, one that happens success- fully: emergency noncompliance. 14 CFR 91.3b tells us:
In an in-f light emergency requiring im- mediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.
Emergency noncompliance is inten- tional, but it is the positive result of a pilot who is in command of the aircraft and the situation and does what it takes to get the airplane on the ground as safely as possible. You might call this “Catch 91.3b”: you can deviate from any rule in an emergency, but in an emer- gency, it’s not a deviation.
The Compliance Spectrum
Which type of noncompliance is “worst?” Obviously, knowing the rules but (outside of an emergency) violating them anyway (intentional noncompli- ance) is the most egregious. It appears these outliers are responsible for a
significant number of accidents. But where can we make the greatest reduc- tion in noncompliance events? I think the best chance comes from address- ing ignorant and especially complacent noncompliance. It’s comparatively easy to learn how systems work, and how you work them, and to hold ourselves to a standard to use checklists and follow standard operating procedures. That, and practice to reduce the compliance effects of stress, seem like relatively easy strategies to make a big differ- ence in what NTSB says is a factor in 78 percent of all accidents.
Where are you today on the compli- ance spectrum? Where will you be on the spectrum on your next f light?
Thomas P. Turner is an ATP CFII/MEI, holds a master's Degree in Aviation Safety, and was the 2010 National FAA Safety Team Repre- sentative of the Year.Subscribe to Tom’s free FLYING LESSONS Weekly e-newsletter at www.mastery-flight- training.com.
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Jet Journal February 2020 / TWIN & TURBINE • 27