Page 15 - Volume 18 Number 9

mbleumarkings on the runway. My hurrieddeparture had assumed that a NoticeTo Airmen check was unnecessary;the distance was short, the airplanewas familiar. But, to my surprise, theautomated information system statedthat an airport improvement projecthad temporarily blocked off 600 feet ofusable pavement. Given the conditions of the day, we were still able to operate in and out safely, but I was humbled.Not Looking RightMuch has been written about landing expectancy and the accident toll it has tallied. In most cases, there was no reason to hurry the aircraft along to the crash site. The crews simply ignored the signs that things didn’t look right, confusing another on-time arrival with true professionalism. Coming over the approach fix high and fast, then attempting to lose speed and altitude and perhaps ignoring positional awareness, can only todisasters like the American Airlines 757 crash at Cali, Columbia. Staying humble, fostering a willingness to listen, watching and learning, are the ways to avoid a fixation on the single task beckoning us on.I can well remember my very first arrival in Houston, Texas. It coincided with an eruption of monster thunderstorms over the destination airport. After a four-hour flight, it was necessary to divert to an alternate airfield on the other side of the city. I neglected the wind checks that are always critical when operating around severe weather, as I set up a hurried visual approach, matching the path taken by other diverting aircraft. ToSEPTEMBER 2014TWIN & TURBINE • 13