Worth your attention

If you and your instructor were planning to review air work such as steep turns and stalls, which is typically conducted at a higher altitude, say, 3,000 feet or above, and needs higher ceilings and visibility, you probably should talk with your instructor and come up with a more suitable lesson plan. You also could reschedule your training flight for a day with better weather conditions.

Or, during the preflight for a daytime training flight, you discover that one of the navigation lights is inoperative and ask yourself: Is a nav light required for this flight? Checking the applicable federal aviation regulation (FAR 91.209 (a)(1) applies in this case) nav lights are not required for daytime operation. Both scenarios involve aeronautical decision making, otherwise known as ADM.

In the back of the Private Pilot Airmen Certification Standards, Appendix 6: Safety of Flight, a section entitled “Aeronautical Decision-Making, Risk Management, Crew Resource Management and Single-Pilot Resource Management” spells out what the designated pilot examiner must do to assess the applicant during a practical test, including, “developing scenarios that incorporate and combine Tasks appropriate to assessing the applicant’s risk management.”

So, during a private pilot checkride, the DPE will ask scenario-based questions so you can demonstrate an understanding of the material in the way that you answer them, such as:

• “Concerning pilot currency and proficiency, can a pilot be legally current but not proficient?”
• “Why should a pilot establish personal weather minimums?”
• “If you are en route to your destination, what circumstances might cause you to consider diverting to an alternate airport?”

You get the idea.

The practical test standards, precursor to the airman certification standards, listed special emphasis areas including positive aircraft control, special-use airspace, runway incursions, icing, ADM, and more. These special emphasis areas address criteria that don’t fit neatly into any one category. Instead, each has played a role in various aircraft accidents over the years. Now, the FAA has incorporated these important elements into the Private Pilot ACS in the risk management section of the appropriate areas of operation and tasks, as well as the appendix. DPEs are required to test your understanding of them during checkrides. They are broad in scope, and sometimes present themselves well before a flight.

After you earn your pilot certificate, you will likely encounter some of them during your day-to-day flying. For example, when you are getting ready to call ground control for a taxi clearance to the runway, make sure you have reviewed the airport taxi diagram first, so you are familiar with the airport. Be aware of any hot spots as depicted on the airport diagram for a given airport where runway incursions are likely.

Then, depending on the mix of traffic at a given airport, and the runway configuration in use, you want to be ready for any possible wake turbulence encounters shortly after takeoff during the initial climb out, if a larger aircraft has departed ahead of you. Also, after takeoff while climbing out of the area, be watching for other traffic (outside, not inside on the moving map) and be ready for collision avoidance procedures if needed. Hopefully none of these will be a factor.

Sometimes they are more subtle, like during the cruise phase of flight, which can be very low stress, unless you are dealing with poor weather or frontal conditions. This is when you might be more likely to deal with ADM and risk management, deciding what to do about a given situation. Should you continue, divert to an alternate, or turn back? And at other times, they are more vivid, especially when you are following a larger aircraft on final approach and might have a wake turbulence encounter, or you might have to deal with un unexpected windshear on final approach. It can happen.

As one DPE explains, “When I ask an applicant about CFIT or LAHSO or TFRs, it is concerning when the applicant is not familiar with any of the terms. How can one operate safely if a briefer warns of a TFR, but the pilot does not understand the significance?”

So, special emphasis areas need to become part of your thought process, like many other things with flying. Knowing how to handle these scenarios is one more thing to add to your bag of tricks, so you are a safer pilot and have the resources to handle these when they occur.