Last month I wrote about some of the resources available to a pilot flying by himself or with only nonpilot passengers (“Waypoints: Not So Alone,” March 2015 AOPA Pilot). One might assume that two pilots onboard are better than one, but many of us have seen examples where two heads are not necessarily better than one. I frequently fly with other pilots and more than once we’ve both become focused on one thing and have thus missed other things. I wrote about an altitude bust last year where two experienced pilots didn’t fare so well.
As I discovered during a recent type-rating experience, the trick to successful use of another pilot in the cockpit is effective crew resource management, or CRM. The notion of CRM has been around for more than 35 years, although it was originally referred to as cockpit resource management. A NASA researcher coined the phrase in 1979 after studying a number of airliner accidents where the crew did not work effectively together. At times, especially immediately after World War II—when many captains earned their stripes while getting shot at—co-pilots dared not question the authority of the left-seaters. That culture continued on in the postwar civil aviation world. Co-pilots were referred to as cargo, ballast, and flak bait if they dared question the decision of the captain.
That began to change in the 1970s after accidents such as United Airlines Flight 173, where a captain ignored hints from crewmembers that they were about to run out of fuel while in a holding pattern troubleshooting a landing-gear problem. Similarly, the world’s worst airline disaster—the collision of two Boeing 747s at Tenerife in 1977—and the more recent Air France 447 accident both demonstrated poor use of CRM. Official reports are not yet out regarding the San Francisco Asiana Airlines accident and several in Southeast Asia, but there is speculation that CRM failed in those situations as well.
While simple in concept—the captain inviting input, feedback, and challenge from other crewmembers, including the cabin crew—effective execution of CRM is difficult. For one thing, effective CRM requires a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities during changing phases of flight.
I was challenged during the Cessna CJ type rating course at ProFlight to properly engage my co-pilot. Russ Albertson is a highly experienced ex-airline and corporate pilot with many type ratings and thousands of flight hours. He works part time for ProFlight as a suffering co-pilot, helping newbie turbine pilots like me come up to speed on jet operations. However, in order to pass the FAA checkride for a type rating, the PIC (that would be me in this case) must demonstrate that he is in charge and directing the co-pilot, not just being led by the experienced right-seater.
Effectively leading a crew requires the use of orchestrated pretakeoff and pre-approach briefings that lay out who is going to do what during normal and emergency situations. And, of course, in the simulator, emergency procedures are the norm, it seems. Ditto for weather to minimums. Interesting how simulator manufacturers brag about the quality of their visuals. They are stunning during those very rare situations when you get to “fly” in visual conditions. Most of the time you’re in the soup to ILS minimums; the occasional circling approach with the ability to at least peer through the gloom at a minimum descent altitude is a real treat.
Albertson knows the CJ, its systems, checklists, and sim procedures by heart. But in order to satisfy the examiner that I knew what to ask for, he couldn’t engage until I requested his assistance in the right way. Who knew that such a simple phrase from me as “Go around. Flaps 15” would take so much mental processing to speak? For days I walked around muttering that phrase and “Leaving MDA. Set missed approach altitude”—both key phrases at critical moments that would set Albertson in motion to help me. But when first in the sim and using all available brain power to fly the procedure, I couldn’t seem to utter the words.
“Get it right, and you get a hug,” he would encourage.
A well-executed procedure with proper callouts would yield, “Brought tears to my eyes” from the right seat.
My command of “Gear down” at glideslope intercept might result in a euphoric “I live for this!” from Albertson, whose irreverent sense of humor helped ease my stress level.
Engaging a co-pilot is a lot of work, but when working as a team, two can truly be better than one.
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Editor in Chief Tom Haines recently added a CJ type rating to his pilot certificate.
Thomas B Haines
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