Page 16 - Nov 2015 Volume 9, Number 11

14 • TWIN & TURBINE JANUARY 2016From the Flight Deck Intuitively Obviousby Kevin R. DingmanAt times I feel certain I’m right – while not knowing the reason.— Albert Einsteinit saved the motor first, then the golf clubs. I’m grateful it all worked, but it made me reflect on decision making. I’d been pecking away at a story about decision making and pilot intuition for a while – ever since a lightning strike caused a compressor stall and engine roll- back in the MD-80 over a year ago (“Shocking” March, 2014 T&T).I was finally coaxed into finishing the story by the above episode in the Duke. But because of the lag-time between writing and publication, particularly when only pecking, a writer from another magazine beat me to print. So, here I am, going missed approach, my article retracting into the wheel well of unfinished articles. Back into the dark clouds of second place while he taxis to the sunny ramp with his article about pilot intuition held high: “Dewey Defeats Truman!” A crowdcheering like he just delivered the Beatles to America. I should have trusted my intuition and pecked faster – I like cheering crowds and a sunny ramp. Now relegated to a metaphysical musing after a missed approach, there’s not enough fuel to divert nor time to peck. But since you may have missed the other article, I’ll offer my story just the same; no cheering crowd and no Beatles. Something tells me you’ll appreciate it.Spidey SenseTen years ago, pilots at my carrier flew about 75 hours per month; it’s now 90. Intuitively, the increase seems to be correlated to the company’s coffers. But not what you’d choose to do as you approachAleisure activity for all of us, but also a source of research and study for professional pilots and writers, aviation periodicals help to keep us in-the-know. There’s a heap of them and they’re more palatable than manuals, graphs and regulations. We read them to keep up with developments in the industry including new airplanes and avionics, pay, politics, powerplants, security and maintenance, and to live the adventures of others vicariously – including the disasters and near- disasters of fellow aviators. If we admit that we are vulnerable to the same disasters and force ourselves to contemplate how we would react, it will improve our decision making. As a writer, reading the stack of magazines also helps to keep us from repeating what others have said. One magazine from the heap recently published an article about intuition and decision making. The topic bears repeating andmakes for a good New Year’s resolution. And therein lies the tale....Dewey Defeats Truman!As the right engineoil pressure slid from green to yellow,andwithoutimmediately quantifying the reasons, I was certain it should be shut down. The future could be ugly if not:a seized engine, maybe a fire,a thrown prop blade, broken motor mounts and the inabilityto feather. The difficulty of the resulting single-pilot, single-engine GPSapproach to 400/1with new avionicswas a neglected afterthought. Apparently,intuition hasits priorities –one disaster ata time please;