Page 44 - Volume 15 Number 7

NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION • focusSingle-Pilot Safety Standdown Returns in 2011Provides Vital Information for Owner-OperatorsDescribed as one of the most important seminars of the year, the 2010 Single- Pilot Safety Standdown drew a near capacity crowd at the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention last year in Atlanta, GA.As one pilot put it, “most single pilots spend all their time either in the air or doing business on the ground, so opportunities to network are limited.” Sponsored by Cessna, the event not only focused on topics vital to aviators who fly single pilot, it also offered Attendees a unique opportunity to network with other airmen who fly alone.The good news is that Twin & Turbine readers who missed the 2010 event have another chance to learn from the experts, as well as their peers, when the Single-Pilot Safety Standdown is held once again during NBAA’s 64th Annual Meeting & Convention, scheduled for October 10 to 12 in Las Vegas, NV.A variety of topics will be examined, and experts and participants will be able to share their experience and knowledge as they tackle realistic, scenario-based problems.Safety Best Practices Based on ExperiencePerhaps one of the best pieces of advice given at the 2010 event came from Dan Grace of Cessna, who told aviators it’s important to know when not to fly single pilot. Know your limits, he emphasized.The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) John Carroll, another speaker at the 2010 event, listed runway incursions, altitude and airspace deviations as common single-pilot problems, which he traced to being unfamiliar with avionics. “Check and re-check,” he advised. Several Standdown participants told Carroll some air traffic controllers increased their workload by changing clearances during climb out, a critical phase of flight.Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s Michele Halleran noted at last year’s Standdownthat to avoid accidents, single-pilot operators should use the autopilot more often, maintain terrain awareness with multifunction displays and ask passengers to share some of the work and watch for traffic.Dr. Quay Snyder of Aviation Medicine Advisory Service updated 2010 Standdown Attendees on the FAA’s policy on drunken driving, antidepressant medications and failing to report grounding medical conditions. He also offered strategies to fight fatigue.Icing expert Pat Cannon reminded single pilots to respect all icing conditions; never fly in icing conditions without the proper equipment or remain there even if you have it; always have a plan to escape icing conditions and never take off with ice on any surface. Special consideration should be given to propeller ice, since many single-pilot aviators operate piston or turbo- prop aircraft.2011 Standdown Even More ComprehensiveThis year’s single pilot safety standdown will be even more comprehensive, with new information and tools for the business aviator.“It’s a tremendously underserved group,” said James Lara, who owns a business consulting company, often flies single pilot and is one of the 2011 single-pilot seminar planners.During the 2011 Standdown, Lara plans to examine why business owners who fly single pilot sometimes are willing to accept more risk than pilots who fly professionally. “These pilots are risk-taking high achievers,” he said. “They may think they’re bulletproof.”Instead, Lara suggested that single-pilot business owners need to be brutally honest with themselves. “You need to take a good look at yourself. Are you focused on flying, or the deal? After touring cities all week, are you going home or staying another night to rest?”Continued on page 4442 • TWIN & TURBINE JULY 2011