Has your flight instructor ever said this to you? They’re good words to fly by, and they are applicable to every type of flight you make. A plan and a purpose help you to get the most out of your time in the air, whether you’re going to do some pattern work, head out to the practice area, or fly to another airport.
But what if something happens before the plan can be completed? Will you press on, so focused on your mission that you develop a sort of tunnel vision? Or will you adapt to the changing circumstances and act appropriately?
Has your flight instructor ever said this to you? They’re good words to fly by, and they are applicable to every type of flight you make. A plan and a purpose help you to get the most out of your time in the air, whether you’re going to do some pattern work, head out to the practice area, or fly to another airport.
But what if something happens before the plan can be completed? Will you press on, so focused on your mission that you develop a sort of tunnel vision? Or will you adapt to the changing circumstances and act appropriately?
It sounds like an easy question to answer. Of course I’d adapt—I’d never let something get in the way of good judgment. Unfortunately, hundreds of pilots fall victim to changing circumstances that threaten the outcome of their flights. These changing circumstances can be environmental: deteriorating weather conditions, or a dwindling fuel supply. Or they can be a pilot’s own emotional reaction to external pressures, such as a spouse who “just wants to get home” or an impending appointment back at the office. Something called “get-there-itis” sets in, and all of a sudden it’s as if the pilot can’t think of anything else.
You go. Then what? Life (and flying) would be much simpler if the go/no-go decision was the only one you have to make on a flight. As it happens, the decision to “go” usually leads to an endlessly changing variety of options to your initial strategy. That’s why you’ve got to be flexible. This means being willing—and able—to alter any portion of your plan as you proceed. You might find yourself departing earlier or later; carrying more (or less) fuel; altering your route of flight to avoid weather or terrain—or even turning around halfway to your destination and heading all the way back home.
Learn from others. The hard lessons of our flying friends and colleagues can be gleaned from accident reports. It may seem morbid to ponder these accounts from the National Transportation Safety Board. Preliminary findings are limited in facts, but final determinations from the NTSB offer student pilots a valuable, if somber, resource since they assign probable cause. The Air Safety Institute offers a comprehensive, searchable accident database involving aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or less.
We often find that accidents aren’t caused by a single factor. Rather, many occur after a string of events takes place. This string of events that eventually brings down a flight is what we call the accident chain. Can you spot the links that present themselves in a November 2009 accident involving an Ercoupe 415? According to the NTSB’s final report, the pilot had just purchased the Ercoupe. He had the fuel tanks topped and departed, only to note that after 20 minutes, the fuel gauge read empty. He returned to the airport and described the condition to the previous owner, who informed him that it “should be fine.” He refueled the header fuel tank and took off again. The engine lost all power, and he had to perform an emergency landing. A subsequent examination of the wreckage by a mechanic found that the header fuel tank wasn’t operating at the correct flow rate.
Faithful readers of these reports will become adept at detecting accident chains. Hindsight being what it is, of course, we shouldn’t be judgmental or smug. If the links to the accident chain begin forming on your next flight, you’ll be much more aware of what’s happening to you, and you can react appropriately.
Little rituals. Some pilots won’t fly if three things occur before they’ve left the ground. They might be running late. (That’s one.) They arrive at the airport, stressed, to find that the airplane they reserved wasn’t available—and the one that is available has completely different avionics. (That’s two.) The airplane that is available is fully fueled, and they had asked for an airplane to be partially fueled so they could ensure a safe departure with passengers and luggage. (That’s three.)
Would you fly under these circumstances? Depending on your flight experience, you might well decide to launch anyway, and the outcome of your flight might never be in question. But for low-time pilots, these are exactly the kinds of situations that can trigger a cascade of problems that begin to present themselves as soon as the airplane tries to get out of ground effect.
The legacy of JFK Jr. The legacy of John F. Kennedy Jr. to the aviation world may sadly be the chain of events that brought down his Piper Saratoga in July 1999. Kennedy, a noninstrument-rated private pilot, was on his way to a wedding in Massachusetts, bringing his wife and her sister. Stuck in traffic, they were late to the New Jersey airport from which they departed. A flight instructor there offered to fly the trip with him, but Kennedy declined. He launched into murky, hazy conditions and chose a route over water on the way to Martha’s Vineyard, the planned first stop—which meant that the horizon was almost nonexistent. He did not use the autopilot. The airplane entered a spiraling dive into the ocean, and all aboard were killed. The NTSB found that the probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Kennedy’s accident may be one of the most famous, but it’s certainly not the only one that illustrates the chain.
A backup for your back-up plan. A very smart colleague amends the “Plan the flight and fly the plan” rule by adding these words: “But always have a Plan B.”
When next you sit down to plan a flight, ask yourself: “What will I do if….” Here are some scenarios to get you started:
- I can’t find the airport. (Don’t laugh, it happens to the best of us! Review the four Cs: climb, communicate, confess, comply.)
- The oil pressure is low, but oil temperature is in the green. (Assuming it’s not a gauge malfunction, you’ll want to head to the nearest airport. Are there airports along your route?)
- My passenger gets sick. (Do you have an airsickness bag on board? Can you land somewhere other than your destination?)
- The door opens on takeoff. (Noise and air entering the cabin has distracted many pilots and caused many accidents. Rather than fight the door while trying to fly the airplane, your best option may be to land as soon as you can.)
- Headwinds eat into my fuel supply. (Is there another airport—with fuel!—en route or within range?)
- Air traffic control doesn’t hear me when I call up to request a Class B clearance. (Verify the frequency; troubleshoot your radio and headset. If all else fails and you can’t raise ATC, then what will you do?)
On the ground, you have a wonderful opportunity to dispassionately evaluate your options and make sure you have the resources you’ll need. In the air, dealing with a situation that’s growing worse by the moment, rational thought may evaporate. So plan your flight and fly your plan, but always remember that plans can change and you may need to change along with them.
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