Assuming command
Speak up when observing unsafe practices
The captain, however, was timid with the thrust levers. Airspeed excursions became larger and more threatening, but as a neophyte co-pilot I was reluctant to criticize his airmanship. Finally, the airspeed indicator reached the barber pole—the redline—and the captain reduced power only slightly, not nearly enough to avoid the high-speed aural warning. I suggested that we reduce power more aggressively, but the captain did not respond. I then gripped the thrust levers and reduced power of the four turbofan engines to almost idle, but it was too late to prevent shock waves on the wings from creating a disturbing buffet.
“I was going to do that,” barked the veteran captain. He glared at me in a way that said I would soon be required to visit the chief pilot’s office. My career was on the line, and an icy silence permeated the cockpit for the rest of the flight.
When we arrived at our hotel in San Francisco that evening, the old geezer asked me to meet him in the coffee shop. The flight engineer also was invited, probably, I thought, to witness the tongue lashing I was about to receive. Instead, the captain apologized. After reviewing the situation, he conceded that I was right to take momentary command of the airplane. He thanked me, paid for our dinner—an unheard-of gesture from an airline captain—and suggested that we drop the matter. I was lucky. Another captain might not have tolerated my aggressiveness.
The role of a co-pilot is to support the captain and assist him or her as necessary. But the first officer also bears some responsibility for flight safety and in doing so must often walk a tightrope between subservience and assertiveness.
These principles also apply to general aviation operations. Assume, for example, that you, as a pilot passenger, are being flown by an experienced pilot in his airplane. At some point you sense that your host is flying in an unsafe manner but does not respond to your hints of concern. This can be a difficult situation. Even though not pilot in command, a pilot in the right seat should not allow conditions to erode to the point where intervention cannot prevent what fate might have in mind.
If you become uncomfortable about a developing situation, do not hesitate to express that discomfort about your pilot’s management (or mismanagement) of the flight. You might initially ask him to explain what he’s doing. This hopefully will serve as a trigger that causes him to rethink his actions.
A good pilot demonstrates more than experience and skill. He shows consideration for his passengers’ concerns and does what is necessary to alleviate their anxiety. If he does not, then you as a pilot passenger might have to consider other options, which—in the extreme—could include wresting control from your more experienced host. Such an action would at least convey the depth of your concern. But what if your analysis of the situation is incorrect? Such is the dilemma with which many first officers have had to cope.
Perhaps the best solution is to avoid such a problem in the first place. This is most easily accomplished by not flying with anyone whose judgment you do not respect. I do not mind flying in the right seat with a stranger in the left because I am confident of my ability and assertiveness, and I am prepared to employ both as necessary. I generally will not, however, ride in the back seat of a lightplane with a stranger in command of my destiny. I have lost friends who yielded control to someone they did not know and had no reason to trust.
Another type of problem arises when you otherwise observe a pilot engaging in unsafe practices. Such a situation calls for privately discussing the problem with them in a sincere manner and attempting to point out the error of their ways. This might have to be done at the risk of alienating a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a friend. After all, how dedicated to aviation safety can a pilot be if he is unwilling to speak up when observing unsafe practices? Turning a deaf ear on safety can make you at least morally responsible for the fate of another’s passengers, a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
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