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Risk Management for Pilots
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Contents:
You as the problem; ...Everyone
Has Problems; …Noise Facts...Prelude to an Accident; ...Holding
your attitude; ...Pilot with an Attitude;
...Knowing your limits; ...Hazardous
Attitudes; ...We Do Stupid Things;
...Proficiency; ...How
Not to Let It Happen; ...Stress;
...Risk Management; ...Personal
Factors; ...Preventative training;
…Why Preventative Training;
…Using Concern to Prevent Panic;
...Passenger Briefing; …An accident Waiting to Happen; ...Hazards of Engine Failure; …Fears of Flying; …About
Fear; ...You're Not Alone; ...Gene's Email to ras; …Bills Problem and
Gene's Remarks; ...Fear Revisited;
...On Slumping; ...Dialoge;
...Getting Lost is a Strange Feeling;
...Fearful Pilot; …On
Fearing Fear; ...Risk Taking;
... Airport Lease Agreements; ... Aeronautical
Decision Making; ...Knowing the Aircraft;
...Twenty-Five Years of
Lessons Learned; .....Paul's Safety
Question ; Glossary;
You as
the problem
The time to think through your emergency situations and procedures
is prior to the flight and on the ground. You will always be
surprised by an emergency. That's what makes it an emergency.
Since aircraft control is #1, you need to do what is necessary
as conditions allow. You will develop a procedure for determining
priorities.
At the end of the preflight you should think through your takeoff
emergency options. After leveling off at altitude get your emergency
list up front. This is the basic list that applies to all situations
and may include expansions for more specific emergencies.
We have been developing and adding checklists from the beginning.
The last list is in many ways the most important. You will never
be prepared for a real emergency. The sequence of importance is #1
Fly the Plane. Make the most conservative decision quickly and
don't change it. Don't waste position, airspeed, or altitude.
Clean up the cockpit and instruct your passengers. In over 10,000
hours I have had only a couple of minutes of actual emergency
all of which were resolved without incident. 20% of all flying
is instructional but only 12% of the accidents are instructionally
related. Midairs, propeller failures, and ground type propeller
accidents occur each about once a month on average.
Most aviation emergencies are of the pilot's making related to
weather or inappropriate maneuvers. 65% of the accidents are
related to pilot error. A few mechanical emergencies come as
complete surprises and lead to reactive behavior. Most mechanical
emergencies occur at an altitude such that a reactive response
is inappropriate. Mechanical failure is a very small factor in
accident statistics (8%). Hasty reactions are, more likely than
not, to be the wrong thing to do.
Darkness is a compounding factor in any emergency. You don't
want your negligent eagerness to get home or 'there' to allow
your self to get low on fuel or into weather and dark at the
same time. Turn around, get down early and get fuel, stay down
if weather doesn't promise legal night VFR. Don't push your night
capabilities in strange areas or airports. Night get-there-Itis
is the worst kind. Darkness and weather (19% of cause) is serving
notice to turn around and get down. The risk of drowning in your
bathtub is five times greater than even having an aircraft accident.
Only one in six aircraft accidents result in anyone being seriously
hurt or killed.
A major cause of accidents continues to be fuel exhaustion and starvation. Watch for unusual needle movements. Keep both historical and current flight records of fuel consumption. Know your fuel system. Starvation can occur even in single position situations. Refuel before low and dark.
An emergency checklist is the first item of any emergency.
Don't do anything until you have this list, altitude and time
permitting. At several thousand feet you have plenty of time.
Most systems failures are slow motion non-emergencies. You get
to plan where to have your accident. The more training and experience
you have the more time you will have to do the right thing. There
is seldom the time or capability for doing something over.
If you have a problem, the nature of which you are unable to
determine, and cannot fix, then get down as soon and as safely
as possible. Don't try to control a situation that cannot be
controlled. Make the best choice of a suitable landing/accident
site as soon and as high as possible. Once you pick your spot
that includes a good, safe approach don't try to second-guess
yourself.
This begins in the flight planning stage. The pilot collects
and arranges his planning materials so as to have some orderly
sequence of use. Only those materials pertinent to the flight
are assembled. A flight route is selected along with possible
alternates as may occur. Radio frequencies are listed in order
of expected use along with alternates likely to occur. Use the
A/FD. The flight bag is checked for extra batteries, tape, pens,
markers, emergency kit, the 'usuals' and 'unusuals'. You must
be able to assemble what is essential, desirable, and nice to
have efficiently and with a minimum of effort.
The weather is checked, along with the notams, and the aircraft.
The use of the aircraft POH is an essential to situational awareness.
Every plane has specified operational and performance limits
that are in the POH. These limits must be checked against the
planned flight planning requirements. The POH lists the minimum
items to be part of all the aircraft checklists, operating procedures.
Modify all POH input with the additional items that fit the way
you fly. Inadequate flight planning is the leading cause of general
aviation accidents.
As for the pilot, the self-analysis must include whether the
currency of the required aeronautical knowledge will give the
best and most efficient use of the preflight planning. The pilot
must think through the departure route best suited for the home
runway in use. The usual arrival runway should be planned for
with alternatives related to forecast winds. In each instance
the runway dimensions and density altitudes must fit within the
POH limits. Alternatives must be collected like poker chips.
I have always felt the most important of these to be keeping
someone at both ends of the flight fully informed as to what
you are planning for all alternatives short of death.
The better qualified the pilot is, the more likely it is that
he will clearly admit unfamiliarity. When ATC calls for you to
report at a given point, if there is any degree of uncertainty,
begin negotiations for a point that you do recognize. Go to slow-flight
to extend your options time.
Everyone
Has Problems
(They are just different problems.) The following list has
been acquired over the years as early warning signs of difficulties
to come. Read them and be aware that the accident you avoid may
be your own.
--A public speaker finds it easy to use the microphone but difficult
to leave out the punctuation.
--The businessman pilot is very uncomfortable if radio calls are not responded
to immediately. The first priority of aircraft control conflicts with his
office experience on the telephone.
--Even getting a pilot to believe that the microphone will work
with either hand is a problem.
--Uses 'creative' procedures when in unfamiliar situations.
--Safety is improved even further by giving accurate position reports
--The ham radio operator finds the preciseness required in radio
wording completely different than that with which he is familiar.
--Pilot is unfamiliar with systems and operating procedures as
written in the POH. Relies on ego and ancient information instead
of POH.
--The person who has never spoken on a radio finds the entire
process both frightening and intimidating. Fails to reveal existence
of a problem thinking that he will 'get into trouble'.
-- We will monitor known traffic, communications not directed
to us, aircraft instruments, proximate terrain and weather, and
engine sounds.
--We will ignore some traffic, some communications, and some
weather
--Difficulties are compounded by accented English. Pronunciations
of Hispanic words normally pronounced in Americanized English
such as Vallejo.
--The background of an auto mechanic can be both a benefit and
a hindrance. Automotive standards and materials do not meet aviation
requirements.
--Pilot is never lacking in confidence even in the face of adversity
and overwhelming odds.
--Flying in conditions for which proficiency is lacking. Night,
weather, ice.
--Reacts to situations as they occur instead of anticipating
through planning.
--While taxiing is one of the last skills acquired, a farmer
with tractor experience finds the process quite familiar.
--Hoping that weather will improve without knowledge that it
will.
--Pilot tends to become tense during final phases of landing.
Jockeys yoke back and forth in reaction to unseen problems.
--Aircraft accidents don't happen to me, just everybody else.
--The pilot who flies is confronted by situations such as weather
or traffic that requires actions for which he is unprepared.
--Using the poor example of another pilot or story to do something
related to flying.
--The car driver must both unlearn and learn at the same time.
--Pilot becomes gradually more uncomfortable with flight situation
without making use of cockpit resources or ATC.
--Flight corrections are made as large and few as opposed to
many and small.
--Pilot is complacent because everything is going so well.
Decreased alertness gives all flying warnings too late.
--A truck driver finds it difficult to taxi without side mirrors.
--A pilot who accepts lower standards of performance because
he has escaped from such situations before.
--Optimism that 'things' will be O.K. instead of knowing what
it takes to make 'things' O.K.
--A person who has little or no driving experience learns relatively
fast.
--Pilot who goes below legal minimums just a little. Relates
to airspeed, clouds, ground level, etc.
--Inappropriate airspeed for situation and conditions. Usually
occurs when in the airport pattern or approach path.
--A fisherman in the area finds orientation very easy by use
of waterways.
--The trucker uses freeways and towns.
-- The stranger to the area or a non-driver must start from the
very beginning.
--Breaks rules and keeps on doing it until...
--The way a place is named can create orientation problems. Northern
California might more properly be called Western California.
-- The angular difference between true and magnetic directions
create confusion.
--The experienced pilot does not see basic faults in airspeed
control during landings since they have always been corrected
before touchdown.
--The instructor is learning as much or more than the student.
At the same time the student is both consciously and subconsciously
learning the attitudes and behaviors of the instructor. Hopefully,
the FAA approved attitudes and behaviors.
--The pilot who fly with a chip on his shoulder related to following
any government restrictions or rules. Resents any advice or instruction
except from 'acceptable' sources.
--We have instinctive reactions that occur just prior to collision,
at the onset of a fire, during some weather, and after seeing
some traffic.
--We can make a considered reaction following an engine failure,
loss of heading or altitude, in response to communications directed
to us, and in avoiding some traffic and weather.
--The pilot must recognize and abide by the requirement that
there are some rules and regulations to be followed without exception.
--The pilot must clearly understand that the flight environment
and the safe control of it is a shared responsibility. Each pilot
has an individually responsibility, to his aircraft, other aircraft
and with ATC.
-- The pilot must constantly improve his current flying practices
by utilizing successful experiences and recurrent training.
--Flying conditions always appear better when you have a 'need'
to fly.
--Pilot responsibility demands that flight cancellation be the
first option when adverse conditions are capable of ruling the
outcome.
--The ability to adjust the departure time and the route is a
major strength of being a private pilot.
-- A pilot need only to perceive those colors necessary for performance of airman duties.
-- If no one knows about your flight route and destination it is important that you file a flight plan.
-- If you are expecting to use a piece of equipment, make sure it works.
--A pilot making a transition to a different type of aircraft must accept unfamiliarity with performance, systems and radios.
--The odds of a substandard maintenance item being accepted increase as the distance to the home airport decreases.
--When a flight instructor gives an opinion it should be in terms of having fully reviewed the flying literature including the very latest research. Even so, an opinion is still nothing more than an opinion.
-- There seems to be an accident spike that occurs shortly after a pilot has had a flight review. Could be that overconfidence is the culprit.
--85% of Part 91 turbine fatality accidents were when owner was pilot.
-- A pilot is more used to ignoring or accepting his own pressures than he is those of passengers.
--There is no mission requirement that lives be placed at any risk in private flying.
--Every flight should be made with the understanding that conditions may make major changes in everyone's plans.
Noise
Facts
One problem every
pilot has is the fact that airplanes make noise. Concord has
a series of noise sensors all around the airport. Some runways
are used even in unfavorable conditions because of the need to
reduce noise.
C-172 at 1000' 70 dB same as dishwasher at 10'.
C-172 takeoff from local airport 3.5 miles away 60 dB
C-182 90 dB truck at 50'
Cockpit of high performance single 100 dB or chain saw at 100'
Prelude
to an Accident
--First there will be small losses in proficiency. First
noticeable is the decline in communication skills. There is a
barely perceptible increase in 'behindness', being just a little
pressed by the performance requirements of the aircraft. The
pilot's capability does not meet the flight requirements.
--Second, as the skill deficiency space widens the pilot gains
a sense of power and good control over the flight. This sense
is regardless of the widening gap between flight requirements
and reserve capacity.
--Third, the pilot becomes bothered by small problems, communications,
equipment, ATC, etc. The cause is never with the pilot. The deficiency
space widens.
--Fourth, the pilot resorts angrily and perhaps violently against
his perceived tormentors. There is a perceived time problem.
--Fifth, the pilot becomes irrational and incapable of controlling
the aircraft. As an aside, I once had a IFR pilot who went through
four of these five stages on an extended IFR flight at altitudes around 12,000
feet.. It is not
uncommon for me to cancel, after less than an hour, the cross-country
flight that is part of my training program were things are supposed
to go wrong
Holding
your Attitude
Pilot training is a program that should teach the pilot that
while negative attitudes exist, they do not need to control your
behavior. Thoughts generated by strong feelings are more likely
to be acted upon when emotional control is reduced by stress ro hypoxia.
There is a DIRECT correlation between the amount of time a pilot
spends with instructors and accident occurrence frequency. Safety
is not an accident.
I would like the pilot training program to promote reduction
and control of those automatic thought patterns that usually
exist in the subconscious, perhaps because the patterns were
formed in early life as a protection against apprehensive feelings.
I would like the pilot to become aware of his thought patterns
as they tend to influence his decisions. Personal attitudes can
contribute to hazardous flight. The fact that pilots are the
primary cause of 80% of aircraft accidents which likely include
pilot poor judgment as a factor.
Confidence is lost before skill. This is true of the infrequent
flyer. Infrequent flying is a breeding ground for the acquisition
of bad habits like rudder applications and sloppy radio. The
smoothness of a pilot's control use reduces the effects of turbulence.
Taking the rear seat and observing a pilot fly is a good way
for the infrequent flyer to appreciate his own level of proficiency.
On occasion the GIB (guy in back) will be appalled by the safety
violations that occur in the course of a local non-instructional
flight. Some pilots are so unaware of their own misdeeds that
one would wonder how they were ever allowed to fly alone let
alone with passengers.
Pilot With an Attitude
--Is he resigned and does not see himself as being able to
make a difference in his life or flying? It is always someone
else's fault?
--He takes unseemly efforts to impress others in how much more
capable he is in given situation. Only his solution is the correct
one and best.
--Does he seem to feel that the system will not come down on
him. He is invulnerable and that always his 'guardian' will come
to his rescue?
--He needs to control his impulsive reactions to prove that he
is the one in control. He often fails to select the best alternative
and exacerbates the worst aspects of the situation.
--He does not like anyone telling him what to do. Being told
what to do is considered always as a 'put-down'. He resents the
rules and procedures proposed by others as silly or unnecessary.
A pilot has an obligation to question authority but an anti-authority
attitude is inappropriate for today's flying.
--Right-of-way challenges do not determine who is right; they
determine who is left.
Knowing
your limits
--A pilot must be both legal and competent. Being legal means
have the licenses, ratings, medical, and currency. Beyond this
is the physical condition and experience required to make the
flight safe.
--A pilot must know his personal minimums for weather. Having
passengers raises the minimums. Not going is always an option.
--The airplane must be legal with registration, airworthiness,
weight and balance and radio station license. Discrepancies must
be measured against the type of flight and need for the system.
--The time and route of flight must be measured against fuel
and load capacity as well as any altitude concerns.
Hazardous
Attitudes
------------------------------------ANTIDOTE
1) Don't tell me, I know............1) Follow the rules
2) Do it quickly.................…....2) Think first
3) It won't happen to me............3) It could
4) I can do it....................……..4) Pilots are
poor gamblers
5) What's the use.................…...5) I can make a difference
We
Do Stupid Things
We can break the chain of bad decisions because every link
is a weak one. Safe decision-making skills can be taught and
learned.
What We Do......................... Why We Do It...
1) Bow to peer pressure........ 1) Anti-authority
2) Get into a mind set .............2) Impulsiveness
3) Give in to Get-There-Itis.... 3) Invulnerability
4) Duck-under-to-get-there....4) Macho
5) Scud running .....................5) Resignation
6) VFR into IFR conditions
7) Getting behind the aircraft
8) Loss of positional/situational awareness
9) Inadequate fuel reserves
10) Descent below minimums
11) Flight outside the envelope
12) Neglect of flight planning
13) Inadequate preflight
14) Failure to use checklist
Proficiency
Just what is considered proficiency depends on the attitude
of the pilot. Even checkride applicants vary in their proficiency
at that time. More significant is what improvements they make
after the checkride. The hours you accumulate are either learning
hours or lucky hours. Often it is difficult to tell one from
the other. Failure to have recent and frequent experience leaves
the door open to proficiency deficiency.
Proficiency deficiency is most apparent close to the ground.
Personally, I question the value of time spent in touch-and-goes
for proficiency. I would much prefer to have a pilot fly between
airports. There is more to being a proficient pilot than just
taking off and landing. The art of being a better pilot is directly
proportional to your knowledge of how the aerodynamics of situation
and configuration can be anticipated. Being less that proficient
makes you a potential hazard and may well cost you more than
the alternative of getting proficiency training. Planning and
training will get you out of difficulties at least as often as
will new cockpit toys. Your best software is under your hat.
How
Not to Let It Happen
You will never be good, if you don't push yourself to be
better. Just the maintaining of standards requires first of all,
the setting of standards. Flying to poor standards is a process
of "doing yourself in". What you do when nobody else
can be aware is the proof of your excellence. You should never
lower your standards and ignore doing things the right way because
no one is watching. Use right vs legal, maximum Vs minimum. All FARs
are MINIMUMS.
Proficient flying consists of critical intangibles related to
judgment, attitude, parameters and all those other quality elements
of good airmanship. The criteria is related to how we accept
what we do while flying. The pilot must discriminate between
the essential and nonessential. Knowing the difference is 90%
in the head. The essentials apply to safety, efficiency, parameter
selection and smoothness. The minimum airspeeds are flown down
to the V(ref/fe number not the gross weight POH number.
You do what you do, do, do because it is the right thing to do.
Don't waste your efforts on inefficient procedures that have
no real effect or bearing on the safe operations of the aircraft.
Use a clean efficient checklist that is based on real-world operations.
Pretty doesn't count. Size doesn't count. Even the POHs non-applicable
items do not count. Sequence what you do in logical order and
a straight line across the panel when possible. Adjust logic
and the line to the higher demands of accuracy and preciseness.
Where sequence is a matter of safety...do it in sequence. Feel
free to vary sequence when it is in conflict with safety.
Do not let an inappropriate checklist replace common sense. Safety
is the substance of all flying procedures. Do what is safe and
it will be right. The irresponsible use of a checklist, using
it and doing it because it is there, is potentially hazardous.
Your way of doing things should be applied as much as possible
to all aircraft you fly. Most things we do in flying can be sequenced
the same in different planes. Be consistent where possible and
make special note of the inconsistencies. Make checklists not so much
just for types of aircraft as for the specific aircraft.
What you do and how smoothly you do it is the ultimate standard
of competence. Even making the choice not to fly is part of the
competence standard. As a pilot you have a trigger mechanism
ready to deal with any abnormality. Be it a starting problem,
radio problem, or emergency you know things will happen and your
alternative courses of action are already in place. You should
not wait to have an accident to know your
proficiency limits.
1) Avoid the situation that contains distractions
2) Plan so as to always fly with a reduced workload
3) Plan for emergencies, follow the plan
4) Know your aircraft systems and be proficient in their use.
5) Know your personal limits and minimums and abide by them.
6) Do not let little problems grow into big ones.
7) If flying is stressful, find something else to do.
7.5
Check with local pilots and instructors before flying into unfamiliar areas
and airports. There will always be local factors and differences that are
specific to the situation.
8) Maintain your health
9) Maintain your physical comfort while flying.
Stress
A certain amount of stress is good for you and your flying.
It keeps 'you on you toes' and alert. However, stress is accumulative.
As stress builds it crosses a threshold level where your ability
to adapt declines and your ability to perform decreases. The
threshold varies every moment of your life. When your stress
level gets you behind the airplane make a change. A change that
ALWAYS works is to slow down the airplane.
---------------................................ANTIDOTE
Other than Flying:
1) Stress exists...............…........Know your stress
agents
2) Change causes stress..............Don't take unsolved problems
flying
3) Stress is insidious.........….......The Life Style factor
4) Stress is cumulative...........…..Flying requires emotional
support
Flying
1) Avoid unrelated distractions......Safe flying is just flying
2) Reduce your workload.............Efficiency breeds efficiency
3) Maintain proficiency...........…...Fly regularly and
often
4) Know your limits..............….....Instruction is cheap
insurance
5) Flying is stressful............……...Flying should
not be stressful
6) Mistakes breed mistakes...........Study mistake recognition
7) No emergency is "expected"......Checklist!!!
Risk
Management
Using behavior modification techniques.
Using D-E-C-I-D-E
Detect....….that something has happened
Estimate......the need to counter or react
Choose.......the most desirable outcome
Identify.…...the best action required
Do.......…....the best action required
Evaluate.......the results
Personal
Factors
1) Under the influence of...Personal attitudes that create
hazards
2) Medical deficiency...
3) Emotional trauma……...Existing stress factors
4) Food or rest...
Clues you should have somewhere in your flight kit to warn you
if you are becoming less aware.
--Fixation.......... ..You find yourself staring as just one instrument
or problem
--Ambiguity...... ....You have two information sources that contradict
each other.
--Complacency ......When you think everything is right...be twice
as careful
--Euphoria........ .......When you think everything is going great...be very
careful
--Confusion...... ........When your 'gut' tells you something is not right,
it isn't.
--Distraction..... .........When you focus on an unimportant element, fly
the airplane.
--Poor communications...When others are not 'in the know', start
talking,
--Failure to meet targets.. .ETA not ATA, planned fuel low, etc.
LAND.
--Underload or Overload. ..Bored or too busy, tighten your parameters.
--Improper procedures........When you or ATC do something wrong, get
it right.
--Unresolved discrepancies...When things don't add up, put in
new numbers.
--No one is flying the aircraft...Things are not right, when
they're not right.
The key
is to avoid not using your position, airspeed, and altitude to
the best advantage.
It is too late to start looking for the aircraft manual when
things go wrong.
It is vital that you have a rehearsed/planned emergency procedure.
Every time you
fly keep adding to your library of 'what if' options.
Creative thinking will not be as useful as an
available checklist.
Situational awareness
is the best lubricant for effective thinking.
A 'second guess' will probably be wrong.
Know where you are.
Preventative Training
As you leave behind your passing of the Practical Test you
will begin to make some changes in the way you fly. As the hours
accumulate there will be a gradual but fundamental shift in your
attitude and performance standards into a more relaxed mode.
This relaxation will continue will continue and grow until something
happens. Eventually something will happen. The happening in 65%
of the time will be directly related to pilot proficiency and
decision-making skills. Unless you have an on-going program of
self-improvement and outside evaluation of standards you will
gradually lose the margins of proficiency you acquired beyond
the Practical Test minimums.
--According to the FARs, an aviator must have a current medical,
a flight review, and three takeoffs and landings to function
as a PIC with passengers.
--Proficiency, on the other hand, indicates
that a pilot is adept, skillful, expert, and masterful.
--Don't waste time and money. Plan your flight so that you have
an opportunity to practice dead reckoning, steep turns, VOR tracking,
slowflight and some stalls.
--If you know you have weak areas, take
an instructor along so you can work where work is needed. Get your money's worth.
--Train for proficiency. Pick a skill and work on performing
transitions from one configuration to another smoothly and precisely.
Those pilots who used the flight review as their sole recurrent
training are going to lose touch with those areas of their flying
that are weakest. The review can easily miss those areas of weakness
that require additional emphasis and instruction.
You should be working on self-improvement on every flight. The
inherent risks of flying can be lowered but never eliminated
by honing our skills each time we fly. We reduce the altitude
and heading deviations. We takeoff by allowing the airplane to
rise when it is ready by holding the nose wheel off the ground.
We lower the nose and accelerate in ground effect before initiating
the climb. We climb at Vy and confirm our takeoff trim setting
by watching the nose when we release yoke pressure.
We navigate by dead reckoning and set our ETAs without the GPS.
With very little practice we can do as well as the GPS. We are
not looking for perfection, just improvement. We want to prevent
any deviations that indicate wasted energy and time.
We judge our arrival by the efficiency with which we arrive on
the downwind, the conciseness of your radio procedures and the
compactness of the pattern adjusted for wind. We judge the approach
on how constant we have been able to leave our configuration
settings. We make any changes as needed but these indicate room
for the improvement we are working on. The changes are the details
we don't want to have to correct on the next approach. The day
may come when we will need to precise and not have the where-with-all
to make any changes.
Why
Preventative Training
The amount of effort and study required in learning to fly
greatly increases the value of the endeavor. To those where things
come easily the value is not nearly so well appreciated. The
overcoming of frightening experiences, unexpected flight conditions,
adverse weather, aircraft maintenance, and personnel problems
only increases the value of the total experience. A student's
ability to look ahead and beyond the negatives into the distant
brightness of success is important but more important are the
lessons learned on the dark side of flight experience. Mistakes
are the saviors of future events. Mistakes keep you from being
too sure of yourself or your skills. Mistakes when overcome will
use their bright side to give us the skill to survive.
Lessons are expensive but failure to take lessons can even be far more expensive. Lessons that prevent the making of damaging mistakes may the be cheapest part of flying. By not learning from our minor mistakes or guided instructional mistakes we are doomed to travel a very dangerous road. Flying skills do not travel in a straight line for very long. Deterioration of skill does not take long its ugly head. Only skill has the ability to change the uncertainty of a paralyzing moment into a non-event. Evasion of refresher training will only delay the inevitable mistake for a time. Initial-mistake avoidance is a far more reasonable that being faced with the same mistake-entry for a second or third time.
A mistake can be both sobering and enlightening. The key to properly dealing with a flying mistake is to accept it as a given fact and use it as a springboard for additional training. It is not a mistake that is so terrible; terrible begins when adequate learning fails to rise from the dark side of a mistake. Proper use of a mistake requires some time spent in productive analysis of the chain links leading to the mistake. Every successful student has faced obstacles, disappointments and failed lessons. Failure is a great teacher. Successes without the leavening of effort are never going to be as beneficial as those mastered by overcoming failures.
Mental attitude has a great deal with the creation of mistake opportunities. Those apt to make flying mistakes are those who cut corners, seek thrills, take chances, have overblown concepts of competence, feel invulnerable, are contumacious toward the FARs and have current personal stress in their lives. A pilot who displays one or more of these characteristics is also more likely to believe that he has control of the outcomes of what he does. When he is in charge he expects the good outcome. He believes that bad things happen to other people. Fact is, considering yourself special will not improve your flying.
The mistake prone pilot is most likely to have the above personal behavior factors and fly with a sense of invulnerability. The worst thing that can happen to such a personality is to 'get away' with a mistake. The very sense of confidence, skill and awareness can bring down this pilot. Denial and rationalization will blind the pilot to the realities that exist. Once panic sets in, the pilot reacts slowly and rational thinking is replaced by illogical hopes.
Using
Concern to Prevent Panic
When concern becomes trepidation the thought process are more
likely to be reasonable, considered, and valid for the situation.
When concern become fear the thought processes become panic driven.
Panic is unlikely to be reasonable, considered, or valid for
the situation all of which leads to disastrous results.
Steps
Preflight
Preflight is sanitized until completed
Flight will be reviewed as planned, as possible problems and
weather
Everybody go to the John.
Cockpit
Passengers air, heat and vents only
Airsickness
Seats and Belts
Positioning and adjustments
Intercom/Radio
Use of radio optional
Signal for sterile cockpit
Headset use and volume settings
Emergency
Rejected takeoff
Engine failure situations
Survival procedures
Immediate Acton
Use of POH
Radio and transponder
In-flight
Listening and not talking
Traffic watch
Pilot in command
See and avoid
Use of checklists
Sharing control
Who's in charge?
Traffic avoidance
Sharing of duties
Passenger
Briefing
Passenger briefings are consistently neglected to some extent
under the assumption that full disclosure of what can happen
will frighten them and encourage airsickness. Leading the fear
agenda of passengers is stalling. The uneducated opinion is that
an aircraft call is like an automobile stall. It isn't. This
is the kind of baseless fear that makes airplane accident headline
news and an automobile accident radio traffic report. Pilot incapacitation
is a legitimate passenger concern; so is turbulence.
Major Considerations
--Getting in and fastening down.
--Getting loose, getting out and getting away.
--Procedure for engine failure
--Off-field landing
--Emergency exiting
--Getting clear of aircraft direction
--Finding solid ground and cover
Passenger Briefing
Welcome aboard Flyin' Flynn Airlines Local flight departing
Concord en route, with any luck at all, to our destination.
Please make sure your seatbelt is on and that your seat is securely
fastened to the fuselage. At this time, any personal items should
be stowed securely in the trunk of your car, since there is no
overhead compartment or space beneath your seat, to speak of.
Please turn off all portable electronic devices, and keep them
off until we have landed safely, or for the duration of the flight,
whichever comes first.
Smoking is not permitted inside the cabin; smoking outside the
cabin should be reported to the captain immediately. There is
no beverage service during the flight, however, heavy drinking
prior to takeoff is encouraged. In-flight entertainment will
consist of watching the pilot's desperate struggle to control
the plane.
We'll be flying at an altitude of 3,000 feet today, in theory;
should the plane's altitude drop precipitously, please check
to ensure that the pilot is awake and in an upright position.
Lavatories are located at either end of the flight.
As we prepare for takeoff, please take this opportunity to locate
the exit nearest you and, if you have any sense at all, avail
yourself of it before it's too late. In a moment, the pilot will
begin handing out the release forms in preparation for takeoff.
Be assured that in all his time aloft, Pilot Gene Whitt has never
lost a passenger; however, your results may vary.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight.
Passenger Briefing (prior to flight)
--.Use the restroom before getting in the plane.
--While walking around the airfield, be careful of spinning propellers
and jet intakes. If somebody yells "Clear!" it means
that an engine will be starting soon
--You must have your seatbelt on during taxiing, takeoff, and landing, and here's how you work it
--Keep the doors closed until I tell you it's OK to open them.
--Note the location and operation of the various normal and emergency exits
--Don't touch the controls without asking first, including the knobs, buttons, yoke, pedals, and the push-to-talk button
--If we need to pass the controls, due to traffic etc., please use "My controls/Your controls" to ensure positive switching
--The airsickness bags are in the seatbacks if you need them. Don't hesitate. If you start to feel queasy tell me right away For those with a weak stomach, the eating of candied ginger a half-hour before our departure will be helpful as a preventative..
--If you see any other airplanes once we are off the ground please let me know. An extra pair of eyes always helps
-- In the extremely unlikely event that we are forced to land anywhere other than an airport, I will tell you to open the door just a crack when we are 50 ft from the ground
--If you have any questions? Please don't hesitate to ask during the flight.
An
Accident Waiting to Happen
1. Fatigue is one of the most insidious causes of lost of
attentiveness and judgment
2. Having the perception that your arrival at a destination is
really important.
3. A long trip not divided into segments.
4. Failure to reduce power setting that will greatly improve
your range.
Hazards
of Engine Failure
--Fire is always a life-threatening emergency. Get down and out fast.
--Engine failure is uncommon and survivable five out of six events.
--Electric failure is a non-event VFR and requires getting from
IFR to VFR as soon as possible.
--Vacuum failure non-event in VFR and requires getting from IFR
to VFR as soon as possible. Learn to read symptoms of a weakened vacuum pump.
--IAS failure is a non-event if pilot knows power and configuration
settings.
--Altimeter failure is a non-event except on dark nights or in
IFR conditions.
--Un-forecast headwinds are a non-event if detected soon enough
to allow flight to alternate airport.
--Unavailable airport may require off-airport landing. Not a
problem if decision made early.
Fears
of Flying
--Flying is replete with risk and associated fears. Fright
is quick, fear gnaws on you.
--Flying is potentially a very unsafe activity. Reasonable considered
fears are safety factors.
--Being aware of what can happen is different than being afraid
of what can happen.
--Risk assessment must be a major component of flight instruction.
--Fear can be an illusion, non-existent and a figment of the
mind.
--Flying is more dangerous than driving by time and distance.
--Flying fears have several origins, instinctive, acquired, imposed
and unrealized.
--Students fear the unknown problems that are sure to appear.
--Personal attitudes, physical condition and unrealized fears
inhibit student achievement.
--We all have instinctive fears of height. Fly in a doorless
Cub or ultralight to see what I mean.
--We fear the possibility of 'failure'.
--Pilot error is the largest cause and most controllable cause
of accidents.
--Instruction is used to prepare a student to use every 'failure'
as a learning opportunity.
--Planned 'failures' are a part of every instructional program.
--Planned 'failures" show the student that 'fears' can be
reduced to non-events.
--Good instruction enables a student to build a collection of
overcome fears as weapons against new fears.
--Good instructional programming limits fear from becoming overwhelming.
This does not always succeed.
--Stalls inhibit our ability to relax because it is related to
'fear of falling'.
--We fear the change in environment, control, sound and sensation
that occurs while flying.
--Becoming a pilot is a process of facing uncounted and unexpected
fears.
--We associate ground proximity with crashing so we 'fear' the
proximity of the ground.
--We fear aircraft and terrain that is at or above our altitude.
--We are fearful of the unknown fears waiting in the next lesson
or flight.
--We are fearful of displaying our fears.
--A fear is not an enjoyable situation.
--Nothing, but nothing focuses attention as will fear.
--Overcoming fear is a process of expanding the field of attention.
--Resource management is taught and used as a control to reduce
fear to manageable segments.
--Every word of instruction is aimed at replacing fear with risk
awareness.
--Training needs to emphasize risk situation evaluation, management
and avoidance.
--Every practice exercise is planned to expose every known fear
to risk reducing procedures.
--Every emergency simulation procedure is used to demonstrate
how potential hazards can be reduced
--Every FAR is equated with how it is derived from a potential
fear creating situation.
--Decision-making is used to reduce the risk(fears) inherent
in flying.
--Fear can be controlled but elimination is not desirable since
fear is a valuable pilot resource.
--One fear that comes to every pilot at some time is the loss
of medical.
--Fear FAA Medical Division will take irrational, delaying approach
to medical approval.
--Fear of a ramp check.
--We glory in overcoming the challenges presented by our fears.
Fears From ras…
--Getting the magic "hold" word when the burrito kicks
in.
--Being trapped in the plane if it went down in water.
--Having the plane get away from me while towing it down the hill
at 87Y, having to chase after it while everyone laughs, and then
have it strike - head-on, into one of the hangers at the bottom
of the hill...
--The most terrified I ever was as a student was on an early
solo flight on a Saturday morning, when I came back to the airport
and found the pattern packed with aircraft. I was afraid I couldn't
get into the pattern to land. I froze up to where I couldn't
even reach for the mic or throttle. Had to fly away from the
area for a while until I could relax and try again.
--Reminds me of my long solo X-C...got told to remain OCTA (VFR
conditions) from approach, had drank a lot of Pepsi before I
left, but I won't bore you with details!
--Fear of flying solo
--Fear of in-flight fire
About
Fear
All fears are based on failure to know enough about the situation.
Any fear can be overcome using knowledge to replace fear with
risk assessment. There are many kinds of fears and levels of
fear. A healthy fear keeps you from flying into T-storms or icing.
A reasonable fear keeps you out of uncertain visibility or crosswind
conditions. Do not venture into a situation where you have not
been taught how to measure and select your safe options.
You will never need to do or practice stalls by yourself until you want to. Stall fears can be killed' forever by doing some aerobatic spins with a competent instructor. Tell your instructor about your concerns so he can come up with some ideas. Never keep a 'fear' a secret because that's the way they multiply.
You're
Not Alone...a posting on ras
Fear in flying is usually associated with doing *new* things
(particularly solo). It can be good in the sense that you're
more aware of your limitations and proceed accordingly. It can
also be bad in that fear tends to focus your attention on what
frightens you - potentially blocking out other important things...
The more familiar you become with the experience, the more confident you'll become. You're not fearful in the pattern because you've done it enough to be confident in yourself. It sounds like solo airwork in the practice area is stretching your comfort zone, and you're response isn't abnormal. When I haven't flown on instruments in several months, the thought of going single pilot into the clouds (although legal) scares me. In my opinion, that's a good kind of scared. Right after an Instrument Proficiency Check where I've practiced stalls and unusual attitudes while simulating a vacuum failure - my confidence comes back.
The people that really frighten me are the ones who have done
a dangerous thing enough times that it doesn't scare them. They
are the few from which the saying comes, "There are old
pilots, and there are bold pilots, but
there are no old, bold pilots."
Keep at it!
Zack
Gene's
Email to ras on Fear
I am a firm believer in the old adage of getting back on the
horse to ride again after being thrown off repeatedly.
Fear keeps all of us from being assertive in many areas of our lives. Rather than being a stimulating force, fear tends to immobilize a person and prevent him from seeing a solution. Fear also creates an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair.
However, fear can often be assuaged with knowledge; of what it's really like to fly without fear and go through the process of getting additional ratings, and live happier with these changes in your life. In addition to facing your fears you need to have a meaningful goal or purpose in your flying life.
When working toward a goal, we are more focused and hopeful, even if we don't accomplish every goal. Life appears pointless if we do not wake every day with a selected goal or purpose. Think toward a distant goal even though the exact steps are not transparent at the moment.
I am working with an IFR pilot who was my student not long
ago. The student has let a concern about solo IFR become a fear.
We are going up locally and do a dual approach. Then the student
will get out, and I will do a solo approach. Then it will be
the student's turn. When I proposed this, the student immediately
recognized it as nearly the technique I used to give confidence
when they were first learning to fly.
Bill's Problems and ---Gene's
Remarks
---These fears are practical and your instruction should have
given you decision making opportunities to develop the needed
skills. If not, take some lessons in marginal conditions so you
can see what it is like.
Gene says: Several of the fears listed are my own list of fears. But here
are my contributions.
--Fear of being stranded at a distant airport due to weather
beyond my minimums with a rental airplane that is due back in
an hour.
Gene says: Talk to the owner of the FBO. You will find that they have
a standing policy that makes weather an acceptable excuse for
staying on the ground.
- Fear that in order to avoid being stranded at a distant airport
I will attempt to rationalize flying home anyway and do it (fear
of get-there-itis).
Gene Says: The problem and its related fear is all too common. You will
never be wrong in making the safest decision possible. Always
keep faith with those who should know that you would not fly
into deteriorating weather. Establish alternate communication
arrangements.
--Fear that I will not recognize that weather (namely visibility)
is deteriorating below my minimums and not turning back or landing
at a distant field (see above) until too late.
Gene says: Don't wait for weather to trap you. It will. Get on the ground
at the first twinge of concern. Communicate with ATC/FSS and
head for VFR. Ask yourself if getting there is worth your and
yours lives.
--These fears are based on how indecisive I was during my training
about whether or not I should still have a lesson when the weather
was marginal. Usually my instructor would be the one to make
the decision not to go after I decided that we would go.
Gene says: Apparently you backed out of some very valuable learning experiences
by not letting your instructor give you exposure to decision
making mistakes. Take some lessons in marginal VFR. Learn to
do SVFR. Use good conditions as an opportunity to learn how low
you can safely fly in marginal conditions in your immediate training
area. Then expand the areas.
--I guess I have a fear of not making the right decisions; which
field to land at during an emergency, should I go around, should
I stay on the ground today. This is one reason I would rather
go with an instructor; someone
else is there to make the tough decisions. Flying the plane is
the (relatively) easy part.
Gene says: Let the experienced pilot make the decisions that will expose
you to conditions beyond your capability. Caution: The worst
thing that can happen to you is for you to 'get away' with a
bad decision. I make a point of giving my students an opportunity
to see what happens when a bad decision is made. As part of the
lesson I teach how to get out of a bad situation. There is material
on this subject on my web site under SVFR.
---Fear keeps all of us from being assertive in many areas of
our lives. Rather than being a stimulating force, fear tends
to immobilize a person and prevent him from seeing a solution.
Fear also creates a sense of hopelessness and despair. However,
fear can often be assuaged with knowledge; of what it's really
like to fly without fear and go through the process of getting
additional ratings, and live happier with these changes in your
life.
Gene Says; In addition to facing your fears you need to have a meaningful
goal or purpose in your flying life. When working toward a goal,
we are focused and hopeful, even if we don't accomplish every
goal. Life appears pointless if we do not wake every day with
a selected goal or purpose. Think toward a distant goal even
though the exact steps are not transparent at the moment
Fear,
Revisited
I found about seven different items on fear and a series of articles
about concerns on my web site. I sent them to the parties initially.
I will work on writing a more effective response. For now, I
offer the following.
The student comes into the flying situation with some preconceived
ideas as what it takes to learn to fly. Many of these ideas are
counter intuitive and often dead wrong. Landings are a good example.
In the instructional course of correcting erroneous concepts
we destroy the intellectual and emotional security that many
have had since childhood. Just watch a child land a toy airplane…flat.
No one visualizes a landing as though done by a duck. When we
fail to replace the destruction of existing concepts with a viable
base of information and skill we have done to the student much
as we have done to Indian culture. To destroy a value without
an adequate replacement value is the worst thing that can be
done to an individual or group.
Into the vacuum of uncertainty comes an entire spectrum of terms
(dilemma, quandary, bewilderment, indecision, indetermination,
puzzlement, perplexing, confusion, insecurity, problematical
questionable, precarious, etc) that breed one with another until
we reach panic and illogical behavior. The frequent flyer does
not have time to allow any one of the subconscious problems to
gnaw its way into awareness. I have a gut feeling that the more
frequently a person gets into an airplane the less likely is
he to quit flying.
For training purposes I do this.
1. My airport radio exercise using all runways with ATC coming
up with some creative instructions is a great confidence builder.
I developed this when a student came to me who had quit flying
after solo because he was instructed to extend downwind and didn't
know what to do. This exercise immediately precedes first solo.
2. I make off airport landings to demonstrate that the aircraft
does not need a runway. The ability to land and takeoff of an
unimproved surface should be required of every pilot. Tremendous
confidence builder but insurance risk is high for instructor. I stopped
about 1990.
3. After home-field solo my next four solo flights are duplicates
of an immediate preceding dual flights to and from neighboring
airports. Success breeds success. Gives a greater confidence
area for making cross-country flights. My students do not have
cross-country problems.
4. I teach pilotage as primary navigation skill. I teach knowledge
of the area and selection of identifiable navigation points as
an essential to keeping track of where you are. There is nothing
so emotionally and mentally debilitating as being lost. Even
uncertainty as to location is a prelude to fear.
5. I urge my students not to begin until they have the time,
money, and ability to proceed quickly to their license. I recommend
beginning in the late fall and finishing before spring. This
gives exposure, under supervision, to the judgment and decision
skills required to accept or decline flight in weather. This
last is the missing link as to why so many pilots drop out of
flying.
6. I take my students up in marginal conditions and very strong
crosswinds. I teach them to use good conditions to work out what
to do when conditions are less favorable. Delay and frustration
is a part of a flyer's universe. Learning to accept an unpleasant
situation is part of a pilot's growth pattern and not a reason
to quit.
On
Slumping
Jeffrey Osier-Mixon wrote:
> A word of advice for all you slumpers... EVERYONE has gone
through this.
Opinion
That is NO EXAGGERATION. Slump happens. You start thinking about
soloing, you start pressuring yourself to impress the aviator
in the seat next to you, and you get all keyed up and clumsy.
Better to have it happen with the instructor there with you.
It's a good thing. Teaches you to fly when you're nervous,
which is another inevitability. If you can land a plane when
you're all keyed up and nervous, and you're not even experienced
to solo yet (else the instructor would have signed you off),
once you get through that you will have improved as a pilot beyond
the ten or twenty extra landings it takes you to get to the inevitable
solo flight.
Good luck!-gatt
Dialogue
In a sense, your fear is reasonable.
> > I'm going to have to disagree here. Perhaps you're
seeing "dread" where I use "fear". Or perhaps
you'd
prefer if I use "caution" or "respect".
No really...Dread and fear go together. When a person fears
something they
will dread doing it.
>> I suppose that it's a matter of degrees, but I don't
view a certain level of fear - respect - as a Fear and respect
is not related. Respect is earned, whether for someone else,
or for the elements.
Although different situations, a person can not demand respect.
When a person of power demands respect, they instead, receive
a "show" of respect, which is fear, or acting.
Bad thing. It's what keeps us looking for the next emergency
field, for example.
> > No one should be flying when they are carrying around
a load of fear!
But this disagrees with what you wrote earlier, where fear
is dispelled by practice (and a good instructor)
>>No it doesn't! The student flies with an instructor to
lean not only to fly, but his/her limitations and those of the
airplane(s). From that the fear is dispelled and replaced by
respect. Quite different than going out solo with
a load of fear. It's really no different than going out when
not feeling well. When I don't feel well, I stay out of the airplane.
But I do agree that too much fear is something to be addressed
in and of itself. This may take something other than simply flying
more dual hours, though. I suspect that this is what you're saying.
>>Yup! The student needs to keep flying dual, but also
needs to get help to dispel the fear. It sounds as if there are
many hours of reinforcing the fear and that makes getting rid
of it much more difficult.
I didn't find the original post, but I'm assuming that he
has soloed. I'm guessing that he has not flown the required cross-countries.
He used the plural in referring to the XCs, so I guessed that
he might have completed them. I don't know this, though. Perhaps so, but this isn't my point. The fear that he's described
is a kind of mental loop
>>I agree. Every time he doesn't fly, he reinforces the
fear.
(I'll return to that concept below). Knowing and knowing that
he knows it, can help get out of that loop.
>> But perhaps I'm assuming too much. Have you done
a simulated engine failure all the way to the ground?
I expect that many pilots go through what you're experiencing,
but perhaps to less degree than this. I know that I did. Especially
after my first solo XC (where I became lost), it was hard for
me to continue (and I've the 5 month gap to show for it). So
it's just a matter of degree, which should show that you could
get past this.
Getting Lost Is a Strange
Feeling.
Response to a Post on ras:
>> It sounds like my experience was similar to yours
on that photo shoot (except you didn't have as strong a reaction).
I actually was where I was supposed to be, but I wasn't *sure*
of it. So, flying as I was into an area where I had to worry
about a class B and three class Ds, not to mention going past
"home" (this was on the final leg), I had the thought
"what if I'm really lost?"
From that thought on, I was in a "spiral", or an
ever tightening mental loop. I was spending a decreasing amount
of mental time on seeing where I was, and an increasing amount
of mental time on that "what if". When I finally decided to use the VORs, it was almost as if I
couldn't remember how they worked.
>>Wait till you get hit with a case of vertigo while
flying under the hood, or in actual IMC
Been there,
done that, and got the T-shirt. Your thinking gets stuck in the
mud in addition to being dizzy and maybe a bit more than a little
green around the gills. It took a deliberate mental interrupt to get me out. I started
with "well, if I am lost, I'll just...". That was enough
to relax me, at which point there was what should have been an
audible click, and I saw exactly where I was. As you wrote, everything
was right where it belonged.
>> This is the type of loop to which I'm referring above.
Agreed. The solution for me was to acknowledge, "yes,
it could be so, in which case I'd...", which then eliminates
the grip the errant thought has. Yes, it could happen. And I've/we've
been trained for this. So, I would suggest that the student should
spend some time (however much it takes, or he's willing to spend)
with an instructor, or instructors and discuss the problem and
ways to reduce and eventually eliminate it.
>> I do agree with this. Perhaps the solution is to perform
more of those emergency simulations (and do them completely,
as in to the ground).
Maybe even trying a glider (proof that flight is possible
w/o an engine).
>>I think the source of the fear needs to be recognized
and then addressed. It may be that originally the stress of practice
was interpreted as fear and from that the cycle just grew.
Many develop a reluctance to go out and practice at some point
in their career as a student pilot. It shows up as procrastination,
and then excuses that other things need to be done. (The mind
is very good at doing this without ever letting us in on what
is going on, or why)
>> I'm just about sure that it's possible for Ray to get
past this. The reason for my conviction is that he didn't start
with this fear. Rather, something occurred which brought this
out. Therefore - I reason - that something can be addressed and
- presumably - handled. Usually, if things like this have not
been allowed to continue for too long. Identification and then
addressing the problem will work. He may have to work at it in
steps, but hopefully he can make it.--
Roger Halstead
> > - Andrew
Fearful
Pilot
First, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to respond
to my issue. To be honest, this is a difficult problem to discuss.
However, I think my desire to get over this problem is greater
than my ego. All of your words of advice and analysis were well
thought out and helpful.
To answer some of the questions that I read. Yes, I am post solo. I flew many solo flights and really only have one requirement left for my license which is the long solo cross-country. Actually many of my regular cross-country solo flights were long enough to count as the long cross-country. However, I had not landed at a third airport when doing those solos.
I have also done many, many engine off emergency landings to the ground. The ground in this case was of course an airport. The instructors I have had usually pull the engine and if they don't, I ask them to. I actually enjoy the heck out of this maneuver requiring a nice slip to landing. At least I enjoy it with an instructor in the plane!
I've heard from many of you the concept of fear reinforcement. I agree absolutely with this thesis. I let it go on WAY too long and am paying the price heavily now. I have to undo years worth of negative reinforcement. I have tried to identify to the best of my ability, what it is that concerns me. Getting lost is actually not one of them. I know the area well having flown every imaginable cross-country over the years. I am also comfortable with VOR procedures and the plane even has a GPS in it. Knock on wood, getting lost is not my current issue. Perhaps my problem stems from the fact that I have no particular love of heights. You would never see me doing sky diving as an example. The thought of falling uncontrollably from the sky is terrifying. Also, I think that the price of making mistakes can be a very steep one; certainly far steeper than most other endeavors one learns. When learning to drive a car all you have to do is pull over if things get a little confusing. No such luck in the plane and even worse luck if you are the only one in it.
I think what may have pushed this problem over the edge for me were some less than good landings I had when doing solos. The worst landing I had was when I became fearful of them (as solo) and some how I convinced myself to do some touch-n-goes in the pattern. Big mistake. I was terrified of how bad my performance was and how fear created a very bad landing situation. From that point on I resolved not to go solo until I had landings down better. Well, many hundreds of landings later and I am still flying with an instructor. I know that landings are no longer an issue so my concerns apparently morphed into other areas like an irrational fear of low probability issues. I also then think of my family and what they would do without me, and I think you get the picture of the downward spiral of negative thought.
Apologies for droning on with this. I take your words of encouragement
with me into my next flight. Hopefully it will be the first step
towards conquering this problem. Despite the time, money, and
the many failures I have had trying to get myself into further
solo activity, I am not yet ready to cave. I know if I do that
this will be my greatest regret for the rest of my life. Perhaps
this will assist in the search for some...um....intestinal fortitude.
Best regards,
On
Fearing Fear
--Oh to die and never to have lived
--The FAA structure is adverse to allowing risk to exist. It
fails.
--To enjoy a life with flying improves the quality of other aspects
of life.
--Living without risk is not living well.
--Successful management of risk is what skillful flying is about.
--There is nothing wrong with fear that keeps you alive.
--A fear that controls your ability to enjoy, is a bad fear.
--To worry about the wrong fear increases risk.
--The worst fear is the fear of being fearful.
--A distraction is a risk multiplier.
--There is every reason to fear a legal risk with minimums.
--The impact of a risk is proportionate to the extent it is ignored.
--The pilot who reacts to risk with carelessness and ignorance
is in trouble.
--Known risk problems are weather, unimproved airports, fuel
situations, engine failure, and personal stress.
--Consider taking lessons in what not risks to take and judgments
to make.
--Weather is a knowledge situation where knowing your own limits
is the key.
--All risk is relative to the knowledge and experience of the
pilot vs. importance of the flight.
--An aircraft with the engine running is at risk and in the air
even more so.
--Risk pressure can be reduced by not having anything waiting
at the destination.
--External pressures must not to become a risk factor multiple.
--Personal minimums are valid only so long as they remain inviolate.
--Personal well being and recent proficiency reduce risk.
--The less stress the greater the chance of success.
--Aircraft performance limits when exceeded compound the risk
factors.
--Know your aircraft, especially the autopilot.
--The risks you take with the lives of others are a measure of
your piloting ethics.
--Experience can raise your risk threshold.
--Your ethics will not allow you to take a risk that makes you
uncomfortable.
--Develop a risk assessment chart.
Risk
Taking
--The next time you intend to cut your margins of safe flight
close, remember that Murphy is acting as co-pilot.
--The criteria of a successful flight is how the unexpected is
turned into a non-event.
Airport
Lease Agreements
Airports, landlords, FBOs want you to share liability with them.
When the papers call for a waiver of subrogation which means
you will share liability for anything they do wrong. The waiver
may relieve the other party from any responsibility or damage
he may cause to you or your aircraft. By signing such an agreement
you become liable and if you have not told your insurance company
you will not be covered.
The waiver of subrogation is reasonable and legal with respect to your actions with your aircraft. The subrogation is not right if it includes his actions. Insurance companies may agree if it is a government requirement. The companies have an obligation to seek recovery for losses caused by a negligent third party. Do not accept any waiver of subrogation or additionally insured without your insurer's approval. Alternatively, cross out of the agreement any such statements and state that your insurer does not allow any such agreements.
Aeronautical Decision Making
Personal attitude
--Degree of acceptance of new or different ideas
--Willingness to try out new/different ideas
Motivation
--If you think you can, you can.
--Every event is the end link in a chain one bad link leads to another bad
link.
--Situational awareness gives problem recognition and avoidance opportunity of
risk.
--Risk rests with the pilot, aircraft, flight environment and type of
operation.
--The limits of your skill and management will determine the outcome.
–What you do is a reflection of your training, preparation and experience.
--Detect—estimate—choose—identify—selective response—evaluate result
Attitude Management
--Self acknowledgement of hazardous attitudes.
--Cockpit Resource Management
--In single pilot operations means cockpit organization
--Use of ATC, other aircraft, FSS, and any thing available.
Stress Management
--Preparation for the unexpected
--Doing what can be done without accusation or blaming
--Logical risk identification and probability assessment.
--Use of information and evaluation of options on a timely basis.
--Acceptance of your personality weaknesses and making adjustments.
Knowing the Aircraft
---Vibration is a warning whimper by the aircraft
----Check oil pressure and temperature
----With engine monitor you can have a baseline to measure from
---Odd and even cylinder differences indicate an induction leak that needs to
be checked
---Probes do no fail ‘high’
---Always seek a ‘back-up’ indication to verify a first indication
---Set alarms only so they function above the norms.
---Vibration is usually due to relative combustion pressures between cylinders
---Horizontally opposed engines do not run smoothly on lean of peak mixtures
due to varying air/fuel
---Single cylinder high EGT is either injector or plug
---Tachometer changes are significant if related to vibration changes
---Re-lean for best operation and least vibration.
---Not all vibrations are from the engine
---Instant rise in CHT means detonation…ENRICH immediately and pull power
Twenty Five Years of
Lessons Learned
---It is always better to divert early
---Weather is too variable to ‘assume’
---Icing is an insidious trap…
---It’s always "see and avoid" …
---Early recognition provides more options…
---"monitor, monitor, monitor…"
---I’ll visually check my fuel…
---Get prepared on the ground…
---I really need to take time for the checklist…
---the first priority – fly the airplane…
---flight is not over until…stopped…shutdown
---I was counting on the autoflight system…
---We had a good runway in front of us…
---return an airworthy aircraft to us to fly…
---Experience does not replace homework…
---check airmen can make mistakes…
---I just learned to communicate clearly…
---If ever there is a doubt…confirm….
---Never assume anything…
---Only emergency transmissions to aircraft on takeoff…
---Take time to do work right…
---Always check the part number
---Never let anyone talk you into it…
---Situations never get better, only worse
---Check the MEL* book when deferring…
---Timely and accurate flow of CRM**information….
*Minimum Equipment List
**Crew Resource Management
Paul's Safety Question
Paul,
The problem with aviation and automotive safety comparisons is that it is all a
huge gessimate. Suggest you Google search the Nall Report for aviation
statistics and the National Transportation Board web site for their numbers. By
the hour driven or flown automobiles are much safer than airplanes. By the mile
this is also true. Where you drive and where you fly affects the statistical
results.
When Lindbergh got his license the life expectancy of a pilot was 900 hours. Today it is about 70,000 hours. I very much doubt that automotive safety has made such improvement even with air bags. In WWII the speed limit was 35 miles per hour to save fuel, not lives. If you fly a twin and have an accident you are four times more likely to be killed than in a single, on and on and on. If you are dealing with an emotional aspect of safety, don't get in bed. Most people die there. It is your driving and luck that will determine your driving accidents and the same is true in flying. You cannot statistically determine what will happen to an individual. The entire matter is not worthy of concern.
Regarding the C-172, with the increased power and speed of the new models you
will see a decline in its safety record. The C-182's record as with any other
similarly powered aircraft is mostly related to its being able to get you into
difficulty better than you can get it out of difficulty. Look at the Sirrus
record. It is the best selling GA aircraft and a high accident rate. Faster
kills more often by either the hour or mile.
As of 1975 with the required installation of shoulder harness, one report
indicated that four out of every five aircraft deaths since the Wright Brothers,
including wartime, would not have occurred if shoulder harnesses were worn.
Oddly enough governmental failures are making our lives less safe in most every
aspect of our lives than need be. I could go on and on but the situation really
depends upon the individual's perception, desires and behavior. Life is too
short not to do what you enjoy. I hope to break 11,000 hour this year and never
in my wildest dreams ever thought I would live to be 81 and still flying.
Gene Whitt
Glossary
Checklist — A systematic list of items and equipment on board an
aircraft that are intended for reference, verification, or identification. An
essential tool for safely flying the aircraft.
Controllability — The quality of the response of an aircraft to the pilot’s commands while maneuvering the device.
Crew Resource Management (CRM) — The application of team management
concepts in the flight deck environment. It was initially known as cockpit
resource management, but as CRM programs evolved to include cabin crews,
maintenance personnel and others, the phrase "crew resource
management" has been adopted. This includes single pilots, as in most
general aviation aircraft. Pilots of small aircraft, as well as crews of larger
aircraft, must make effective use of all available resources; human resources,
hardware, and information. A current definition includes all groups routinely
working with the cockpit crew who are involved in decisions required to operate
a flight safely. These groups include, but are not limited to, pilots,
dispatchers, cabin crewmembers, maintenance personnel, and air traffic
controllers. CRM is one way of addressing the challenge of optimizing the
human/machine interface and accompanying interpersonal activities.
Decision-Making Process — Involves an evaluation of risk elements to
achieve an accurate perception of the flight situation. The risk elements
include the pilot, the aircraft, the environment, the operation, and the
situation.
DECIDE Model — To assist in teaching pilots the elements of the
decision-making process, a six-step model has been developed using the acronym
"DECIDE."
Detect the fact that a change has occurred.
Estimate the need to counter or react to the change.
Choose a desirable outcome for the success of the flight.
Identify actions which could successfully control the change.
Do the necessary action to adapt to the change.
Evaluate the effect of the action.
Procedure — An action that must be performed in a particular way.
Aviation Safety Counselor — Volunteers within the aviation community
who share their technical expertise and professional knowledge as a part of the
FAA Aviation Safety Program.
Safety Pilot — A pilot that holds at least a current private pilot
certificate, a category and class rating appropriate to the aircraft being
flown, and at least a current third-class medical certificate. The safety pilot
is in charge of seeing and avoiding other aircraft and terrain while instrument
maneuvers are performed by another pilot who is wearing a view-limiting device.
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