Flying Lessons - 090611

©2009 Mastery Flight Training, Inc. All rights reserved.

FLYING LESSONSFLYING LESSONS for June 11, 2009

suggested by this week’s aircraft mishap reports FLYING LESSONS uses the past week’s mishap reports as the jumping-off point to consider what might have contributed to accidents, so you can make better decisions if you face similar circumstances. In almost all cases design characteristics of a specific make and model airplane have little direct bearing on the possible causes of aircraft accidents, so apply these FLYING LESSONS to any airplane you fly. Verify all technical information before applying it to your aircraft or operation, with manufacturers’ data and recommendations taking precedence.

FLYING LESSONS is an independent product of MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING, INC. www.thomaspturner.net This week’s lessons:

By its nature landing occurs at a high angle of attack, which results in significant drag. If the airplane is allowed to get too slow the angle of attack may be so great that adding power alone does not arrest its descent. It takes great discipline to add power and lower the nose to recover from an excessive rate of descent close to the ground.

The preventive measure is to maintain proper airspeed control before you find yourself in this position. If the sink rate becomes excessive it may be best to initiate a go-around—power, attitude, speed and flaps—instead of trying to salvage the landing.

Part of landing is knowing when speed and/or glidepath makes a go-around and a second attempt the wiser choice.

What can cause retractable gear to collapse during taxi? Possibilities include:

To prevent a gear collapse during taxi:

There is no situation that warrants leaving an airplane pilotless when its engine is running. There is trepidation among many pilots of fuel injected engines about “hot start” procedures that might make someone unwilling to shut down the engine for a short period of time. Learn the proper engine start procedures and patiently apply the checklist procedures, and you’ll replace this fear with knowledgeable command of the airplane’s systems. A successful takeoff abort requires the pilot actively monitor the takeoff from the very beginning, and quickly abort if at any point the flight does not attain specific takeoff targets. The takeoff phases to consider are the:

If the airplane fails to achieve any of these performance targets, abort the takeoff right away, then take time to sort out the problem after you’ve safely come to a stop. Do you not have a good idea of the expected power output, acceleration, takeoff speed and distance, and initial climb attitude, speed and rate under the existing ground and atmospheric conditions at the airplane’s current weight? Takeoff planning is the epitome of the FAA’s Practical Test Standards completion criterion that the pilot must “demonstrate mastery of the aircraft with the successful outcome of each TASK performed never seriously in doubt.”

If you don’t know what to expect from your airplane on takeoff you won’t know when it’s not achieving those goals, and you’ll be caught trying to “will” the airplane to become airborne and climb when preflight calculations and active monitoring during takeoff might have permitted an early, safe abort.

Questions? Comments? Email me at mastery.flight.training@cox.net A LITTLE TIME OFF FLYING LESSONS will take a short hiatus while I spend some time traveling with my family. We’ll be back with more to help make your flying safer on July 2.

QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

June Question of the Week #2

One randomly selected reader in June will win his/her choice of a Mastery Flight Training hat or the MFT DVD Those Who Won’t: 10 Tips for Avoiding Landing Gear Mishaps. Your email address goes in the drawing once every week you respond to a question. All responses will remain confidential, but I will publish a review of the results. Like PIREPs, this works best if everyone participates. So take a moment to answer this week’s question… then come back to read the rest of FLYING LESSONS.

The June Question of the Week #1 was: Have you ever been cleared onto a runway, to take off or to land when the way was not clear? Here are your responses:

As it didn't appear to be moving, I queried ATC as to the intention. ATC, of course, had me go around and apologized as apparently the other aircraft had been cleared into position and hold and then was forgotten....possibly a controller change occurred. This incident did increase my awareness that ATC also makes mistakes. More recently....perhaps three months ago.....returning to my home base of KFTW I was cleared to land on Runway 16 and was on short final when a small aircraft was told to hold short and instead taxied onto the runway in front of me. Another go around.

ATC acted quickly, had me come back around, chastised the errant pilot on frequency, and thanked me after I had landed.....probably for not saying what I was thinking! This was, I am sure, logged as a runway incursion. Vigilance pays!

The tower controller immediately approved my go-around with the executed right turn out. He subsequently cleared the C310 for takeoff and then sequenced me for the right hand pattern and landing. That was the end of the incident. No further contact was requested of me, and I made no attempt to see what the Tower Controller had in mind by delaying the C310's takeoff. I hope there is something instructive from this shared experience.

The really scary episode happened during my instrument training when I was on short final flying a practice ILS under the hood and the tower cleared a Saab 340 on downwind to land ahead of us. "A loss of separation resulted" -- my instructor had to take the controls and maneuver aggressively at about 300 agl to avoid the mid-air. He told me later that he could see the expressions on the faces of the passengers in the Saab, and they looked just as scared as he was.

DEBRIEF: Readers discuss past FLYING LESSONS reports

Reader and author/safety advocate Norm Scroggins adds his considerable experience as an Air Traffic Controller to the discussion of being cleared for an unsafe runway:

Air Traffic Control has not, cannot and will not ever function without error. All the more reason for emphasis on "SITUATIONAL AWARENESS" from prop-start until you land and park. On the positive side, most errors are "adjusted" and separation is maintained. A pilot response or question often stimulates such action.

A number of factors have bearing on controller performance. Personally, I'm sensitive to the fact that the system is involved with "growing pains' in "change" created by employee retirements from the hiring "surge" of the '81 strike. Like flying, "experience" adds to controller insight and skills. Low activity ATC Facilities are a starting position for many new hires. Kudo's to the PC-12 pilot for his awareness and actions.

As a Controller, I taught Tower and Radar operations to a number of student controllers. As a Flight Instructor, I helped some of the same controllers learn to fly. I believe most remember hearing me advising (in both positions), "Trust no one but yourself.....and remain aware of what is happening around you".

Before RADAR and GPS, controllers (in Centers and Terminal Approach Control) had to develop a mental picture of lateral and vertical separation of flights in the airspace. Radar, GPS, and Convergence Alert has relieved but not eliminated such need for the controller .....nor the pilot. "SITUATIONAL AWARENESS" was a buzz phrase first emphasized in FAA's Accident Prevention program; two simple words of instruction which do influence safety both in the air and on the ground.

Referencing last week’s FLYING LESSON comparing the effects of fatigue to intoxication, reader and airline safety director Alan Davis writes:

What a coincidence - I just sent out some information today to my stations and management teams and then I opened your e-mail! Thought you would be interested is this. Alan’s message to his management teams, which he forwards for our benefit, includes this (edited very slightly for the context of FLYING LESSONS):

Research supports what you’ve known all along: pilots who are stressed or fatigued pose a greater safety risk than those who are not. No surprise. But get this, recent studies show that tired and overly-stressed pilots are as dangerous as those who are legally intoxicated. That’s a scary thought.

We know that there is stress in flying - especially when things don't run on schedule or other issues crop up. While "some stress" can be good - like the stress that pushes an athlete to perform - most stress plus fatigue can have a very negative effect on performance. There is also a lot of stress from the outside - both economic and job related - with which many may be dealing, along with our issues of staffing, hours, and productivity.

There is no easy answer for this, unfortunately, since we cannot control the "outside forces" that may be causing stress, fatigue or both. What we CAN do it to make sure we know we must always "Leave the baggage at the door - you can pick it up on the way out when the work is done." Our environment is difficult and can be dangerous - both to us and to the aircraft - and we MUST be focused on what we do at all times.

We don't need people who are "walking intoxicated" from fatigue - they are a danger to our operations.

Questions? Comments? Send your insights to mastery.flight.training@cox.net Fly safe, and have fun!

Thomas P. Turner, M.S. Aviation Safety, MCFI

2008 FAA Central Region CFI of the Year

FLYING LESSONS is ©2009 Mastery Flight Training, Inc. Copyright holder provides permission for FLYING LESSONS to be posted on FAASafety.gov. For more information see www.thomaspturner.net , or contact mastery.flight.training@cox.net or your FAASTeam representative.