Crisis Management 101

Much of our training for any pilot certificate or rating is based on learning how to cope with the emergencies that challenge us to use the skill and knowledge we have acquired from hours of ground school and flying - and to do it in only a few minutes. These events require immediate action. Lack of necessary skills may lead to an accident. Interestingly, you may fly a lifetime without ever facing a real emergency. Yet, National Transportation Safety Board files are filled with reports of aviation mishaps, some no fault of the pilot. This is where Murphy's Law comes into the picture, and ultimately why we practice resolving emergencies. If something can go wrong, chances are it eventually will go wrong.

Naturally, there is a right way and a wrong way of doing just about anything. When it comes to flight instruction, the key point as an instructor involves knowing the best way of teaching how to handle an emergency, whereas the student's role is in learning how to handle an emergency and demonstrating these techniques. The problem with teaching pilots how to handle emergencies comes in knowing that these are only simulations. The next question is: How far can the instructor go in making these simulations as effective as possible? How much risk is the instructor willing to take in order to sharpen the skills and awareness of his student?

Aviation safety is always enhanced when risk is reduced to its absolute minimum. This is the key responsibility of every pilot on every flight. Certain lessons learned in aviation require an additional risk factor, and this is something that must be accepted until general aviation flight simulation reaches the level of realism found in the most advanced simulators. This could be achieved now in general aviation - at an incredible cost to the student. The most advanced simulators cost about $700 an hour to operate.

Let's look at some typical emergencies that are likely to occur during our flying careers. Some of these are clearly defined in the practical test standards for a particular certificate or rating. Proficiency in handling these simulated emergencies is required for airman certification. Others are defined or illustrated in the Aeronautical Information Manual, along with accepted procedures for handling them safely. Any of these emergency scenarios would be beneficial as elements of a flight review, and if they are not already a part of your flight review syllabus, request that they be included.

Weather is a factor in many general aviation accidents. The causes range from inadvertent penetration of thunderstorms, to encountering icing conditions, to VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) without an instrument rating, to gusty surface winds. A good instructor always carries a view-limiting device to be used in simulating instrument conditions. Students and private pilots must be comfortable executing a 180-degree turn in IMC safely in order to return to visual conditions.

But the procedure should not end there. After the 180-degree turn, the pilot should consider a different altitude to maintain VFR, or an alternate airport to land at to wait out the weather. A call to Flight Watch would certainly be appropriate to determine weather conditions ahead or behind your flight path. The best learning experience would be for the instructor to file an IFR flight plan and fly "inadvertently" into IMC, allowing the student to safely resolve the potential emergency. Reducing rpm to the bottom of the green arc will simulate the onset of carburetor icing, further emphasizing the need to return to VFR conditions as soon as possible.

During the crisis, a pilot may have lost awareness of his exact position. Perhaps there are no navaids in the vicinity and no familiar terrain below. Most railroad tracks and two- or four-lane highways eventually lead to a city or small town, and once over the city, the pilot may see an airport on the perimeter of the city limits.

As is detailed in the AIM, an emergency can either be a distress or urgency condition. Fire or mechanical failure would be an example of a distress situation, whereas a pilot doubtful about position would be considered an urgency condition. This condition may not seem immediately serious, but it could develop into a situation leading to trouble if fuel is exhausted while searching for an airport. As outlined in the AIM, ready and willing help is available to any pilot in a situation where the safety of the flight has been compromised. But time is of the essence. When in doubt, do not delay - take action!

When is the last time you practiced using a "DF steer"? A direction finder (DF) is a radio receiver equipped with a directional sensing antenna used to take bearings on a radio transmission, i.e., from your aircraft. A call to the nearest flight service station (whose frequencies are published in the Airport/Facility Directory) will initiate the process. When you request a DF steer, headings will be provided to guide your aircraft to a predetermined point such as the DF station or an airport. Practice DF guidance is provided when FSS workload permits. In response to pressure from AOPA and other groups, the FAA recently agreed to maintain direction-finding equipment at many FSSs for the next 10 years. In 1997 FAA officials announced plans to shut down all 143 DF sites operational at the time. Several sites will be closed down, but most of the units will remain available to pilots in many areas of the country. There are even plans to replace older vacuum-tube-based equipment with newer solid-state units.

We continuously train for engine emergencies, despite the high reliability of modern aircraft engines. In any emergency situation, keeping the aircraft under control is priority number one. An engine failure will require the execution of some "memory items," and once these items are accomplished, refer to the appropriate emergency checklist. Checklist discipline and proper usage is critical to flight safety. Don't create an emergency by missing a checklist item! If you are practicing engine-failure scenarios, devise some extra margins of safety. Use the longest runway available when practicing aborted takeoffs, and limit acceleration to half the rotation speed before initiating the simulated engine failure. Make it a practice to call "Abort!" at the instant of realization that an engine problem has occurred, or a configuration problem exists, or a door is ajar, or an imminent runway incursion is seen ahead. This verbal statement will trigger the appropriate response and add an extra margin of safety.

There is no good time for an engine to fail, but the more time you have after the failure, the better. Pilots must mentally discipline themselves before takeoff that if the engine fails below 700 to 800 feet above the ground, turning back toward the airport may lead to a stall/spin. Instructors can add a margin of safety to this emergency demonstration by selecting carburetor heat on, which will cause a slight reduction of rpm, and following up with the statement "Engine failure!" The left-seat pilot should already have his hand on the throttle at the takeoff power setting, minimizing the risk of the instructor's somehow reducing power by an inadvertent throttle reduction. The pilot should respond by stating "Landing straight ahead," if the memory items do not restore engine power. The true risk of reducing power intentionally by pulling back the throttle even a few hundred rpm at this critical phase is that when the demonstration is complete, the engine may not respond. This same realization must also be applied to simulating forced landings. To make the demonstration realistic, you should descend as low as legally acceptable for the field or off-airport landing site before calling for a go-around and advancing the throttle to maximum power.

The true test of whether the procedure was properly flown is whether you would have been able to land if the engine did not respond. Add a margin of safety to this procedure by choosing the area that has the best potential landing sites.

If practicing emergency landing scenarios at night (remember, engines could care less at what time they fail), review the hazards of what pilots cannot see. A good field during the day in your practice area will look like nothing more than a void at night. There may be a few lighted roads beneath you, and these may be the best alternative if forced to land off-airport at night. Remember, however, that there may be other hazards associated with roads, such as telephone or electrical poles and wires or vehicular traffic. This would be a most challenging dilemma to face, but giving it some thought while you are safe on the ground at least enables you to visualize ways to meet this potential emergency.

The next time you are doing some night flying to regain currency or proficiency with an instructor, why not try a landing without the use of your landing light? Perhaps in "real life," the lamp burned out as it was switched on, or maybe you experienced an alternator and/or battery failure at night, leading to the loss of all lighting - and, for many aircraft, flaps as well. Request the longest and widest runway available for this demonstration.

Human beings fear what we do not understand. Understanding the consequences of aircraft component failures with an instructor, and knowing that it is just a demonstration, will develop confidence for handling future emergencies. As they say, there is no substitute for experience.

Another one of Murphy's favorites is the failure of a cockpit instrument. There are so many to choose from! If you have determined that you have had an instrument failure, take the errant gauge out of your scan by covering it. Those circular, flat suction-cup soap holders you see at the supermarket work great for this. You should carry two or three of these in your flight bag for just such an event. Many an aircraft has been destroyed because a pilot inadvertently followed false indications, not realizing that the instrument had failed. Spatial disorientation was the usual result, leading to a loss of control. A failure such as this would be much more critical in IMC; however, a night VFR attitude indicator failure could also lead to spatial disorientation Covering up the failed instrument removes the threat.

Electrical smoke or fire requires immediate recognition and use of the emergency checklist. For practice, your instructor should fail some component of the electrical system by pulling the appropriate circuit breaker, rendering that component inoperative, followed by announcing "Electrical smoke in the cockpit." Your task now is to determine the failed component by using the checklist as a guide, and taking the smoke-generating equipment out of the system (sometimes as simple a step as turning it off!). Set a time limit to determine the source of the problem. Five minutes will probably be too much.

Emergencies are not limited to the failure of aviation hardware. In-flight medical emergencies run the gamut from the Hollywood scenario of the DC-10 captain slumping over the controls with a heart attack to your little girl needing to use the airsickness bag. These emergencies are given little attention during training or flight reviews. Pilot incapacitation can be sudden or subtle. The effects of hypoxia caused by lack of oxygen, or carbon monoxide poisoning from a leaking manifold during cabin heat use, could appear suddenly - or so gradually that you don't notice them. Two key elements will enable you to handle a medical emergency effectively, whether you are the victim or if one of your passengers has fallen ill.

Quick recognition is critical. The longer you or your passenger denies that "something isn't quite right," the less time you will have to save the situation. As they say, "If something doesn't feel quite right, it probably isn't!"

Determine the nearest suitable airport. Begin preparations to land immediately. Request ATC assistance in having emergency medical personnel meet you at your designated landing airport. There is really no way of simulating these types of emergencies (other than your instructor surprising you one day by stating he is "incapacitated" and seeing how you handle it), but a plan of action should always at least be in the back of your mind as you perform your preflight duties. The personal checklist IMSAFE from the AIM's Medical Facts for Pilots applies to both pilots and passengers of general aviation aircraft. The acronym stands for "I'm physically and mentally safe to fly; not being impaired by illness, medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, or emotion."

From the AIM under "Emergency Procedures": "The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of that aircraft. In an emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule in the FAR, Subpart A, General, and Subpart B, Flight Rules, to the extent required to meet that emergency" (reference FAR 91.3[b]). During flight tests and flight reviews, you will be expected to demonstrate your skills in handling emergencies. Remember to select (or simulate selecting) 121.5 MHz to declare your flight status using the word mayday; squawk 7700 on your transponder; and give ATC your position, souls on board, and fuel status. The Private Pilot Practical Test Standards require the demonstration of tasks such as emergency descents, emergency approach and landing, systems and equipment malfunctions, and emergency equipment and survival gear. Further reference on these items can be found in found Advisory Circular 61-21, your pilot's operating handbook, and the FAA-approved airplane flight manual. A thorough review of these emergency procedures is well worth your time.

There's that word again, time. You may have precious little of it in an emergency. Use it well and wisely, and request all of the help that is out there. Flying has an inherent level of risk. Through knowledge and experience, that element of risk may be reduced, but it cannot be eliminated. "In flying I have learned that carelessness and overconfidence are usually far more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks." The author of that quote? Wilbur Wright.

Joel Stoller is a Douglas DC-9 captain for Midwest Express Airlines based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a part-time flight instructor who has more than 16,000 flying hours, including more than 600 hours of dual instruction.