Accident analysis: What would you do?

Every uneventful solo is considered successful, but real proof comes when a student flying solo successfully deals with the unexpected. A Massachusetts student and her instructor attracted national attention for her coolness and thorough preparation after her Piper Warrior lost a wheel during the takeoff roll. Yes, she had help: The control tower diverted other traffic to minimize distractions, and her instructor talked her through it over the radio. But she had to make that landing by herself. She did, walked away unhurt, and was back in the air within the week.

Her experience reinforces lessons we’ve all learned, but too often forget when things get tense:

Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy got this one right. Panic reduces your capacity to respond. Focus on the things you can affect.

Don’t hurry. Hurrying neglects what you’re doing now to fret about what comes next.Don’t hurry. Certain situations require immediate action: an in-flight fire, say, or high-altitude depressurization. But even there, responding quickly and effectively doesn’t mean rushing. Hurrying neglects what you’re doing now to fret about what comes next. Be efficient but systematic—much easier when you’ve drilled the procedures and made checklist discipline a habit. Most aviation emergencies leave at least a few minutes to identify the problem and determine the best response. Use them.

Our Massachusetts student didn’t try to put it back on the ground immediately. She circled the field for half an hour, steadying her nerves and working out a plan with her CFI and the controllers. She didn’t land until she felt prepared.

Don’t make things worse. If the problem doesn’t threaten death or severe injury, don’t let it deteriorate into one that does. Gear-up landings are completely survivable—provided the pilot doesn’t lose control or fly into something solid while making heroic efforts to extend the wheels. The Texas pilot who flew a Cessna 210 wings-level into the ground while pouring various fluids into the landing gear’s hydraulic reservoir acknowledged afterward that the accident could have been avoided “if I’d just remembered to fly the airplane.” The head of a major type club put it this way: “You just sold the airplane to your insurance company. Why risk your life to save them money?”

Do what you can. Don’t be distracted by things beyond your control. Concentrate on what’s within your grasp—like your control inputs and where you’re pointing the nose.

Any in-flight complication can be alarming, but most can be managed by a pilot who’s calm and resourceful. That’s the pilot we all want to be.