Fighting chance

OK, probably not, because I’ve seen most of you tough pilots at the airport drinking your coffee black. For you maybe it’s something else—eggs or bread or something practical like that—but you get the point. There we all are, in the driveway, kicking ourselves for going on mental autopilot once again and forgetting something important. It’s annoying when it happens in the car, but when it happens in an airplane, well, that could really ruin your day.

Most of us have a home airport where we do most of our takeoffs and landings. We get so used to the slope of that runway, and the two trees at the end, and the way our airplane easily clears them by several hundred feet, that our brain operates in a haze of routine. That system works fine most days because we feel like we could fly those familiar airplanes in our sleep, which is sort of what we’re doing. But when we encounter carburetor ice or high density altitude or a gauge that doesn’t seem right, we realize too late that we should have done a little more mental preparation before the flight.

“Roughly 45 percent of accidents occur in the takeoff and landing phase of flight. Of those accidents, the ones that happen on takeoff are usually fatal.” That’s what the FAA safety team program manager announced at our last Wings seminar before he went on to discuss how to mitigate the risk. I got stuck on the words “usually fatal,” because that sounds like something out of our control as pilots. And in some cases, close to the ground, there is very little we can do in certain catastrophic events. But, as the safety manager explained, there are many ways to give ourselves a fighting chance, and they all have to do with making sure we are as knowledgeable as possible before we start rolling down that blacktop.

Know your airport

Does the runway have a slope or an unlit tower at the end? If you need to make an off-airport landing, where are the open fields? Is there an intersecting runway or another close airport that could make traffic an issue? Any airspace or departure procedures that could increase your workload during this critical phase of flight? Especially if you are departing from an unfamiliar runway, know that there are many pieces of knowledge to gather so you can make a quick, informed decision in the case of the unexpected.

Know your airplane

Should the fuel pump be on for takeoff? Do you normally only get 2,000 rpm at full throttle? You’re 2,000 feet down the runway and still haven’t rotated: Are you meeting performance expectations?

Know yourself

We’re talking about personal minimums here. Have you had enough rest? Did you take any new medication? Did your beloved labradoodle, Mr. Orville, pass away two days ago, leaving you feeling dazed? When did you last practice with a 15-knot crosswind or 500-foot ceiling? Run your personal minimums checklist prior to flying.

Takeoff briefing

Even if you do all your homework, you may still run into the “oh, no” factor if something unexpected happens on climbout. It takes most people several seconds (at best) to realize they have a problem, then diagnose what that problem is, then react to it. Luckily, a pilot can cut his reaction time down with a good takeoff briefing. Many people advocate including everything from your expected ground run to what you ate for breakfast, and there is a time and place for that. But those things are better briefed in the FBO. Also—and this might ruffle some feathers—I would prefer the takeoff briefing to come from my own head rather than from reading a checklist. If you start reading a three-minute-long list of every possible scenario, you run the risk of going right back into autopilot brain as you repeat the ritual of words you’ve read a 100 times before. Why not simply state out loud your initial departure heading and altitude, as well as what you will do in case of an emergency both on the runway and in the air? At the hold-short line, let’s narrow this down to the essentials so we can respond as quickly as possible to an adverse event.

Aviation taught me long ago that many things are out of our control, and therefore not worth worrying about. Thankfully, mindset is not one of those things. For every single takeoff, make sure you are alert and informed so you can depart stress-free, knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to ensure a safe flight. Now, if you could only remember the eggs on your way home.

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