Happy to help

It’s Friday night, and you are standing outside a speakeasy in a dark alley, staring at an imposing closed door. You think you hear the sounds of good times inside. Is that a jazz band playing? People laughing? Hopefully you have the right code word because you desperately want to get inside and blow off some steam with your friends. After giving the secret knock—two short raps followed by three slower ones—the door opens just a crack. You whisper “blind cobbler” into the void. The door swings wide...let the good times roll.

Did you know there are words in aviation that can also open doors? No secret knock required. You just have to be assertive enough to speak up. Several years ago, I was flying my family home to Memphis, Tennessee, from our fall break trip to Fredericksburg, Texas. Even in Daisy, my buddy’s loaned Beechcraft Bonanza (a significant upgrade from my own Cessna 172), it was a long day of flying for this single pilot. I had filed IFR to get above a cloud layer and was happily buzzing along in smooth clear air at 7,000 feet. A good 90 miles from home, the controller issued a clearance I wasn’t too thrilled about. “Descend and maintain five thousand.”

I know I’ve shared my philosophy before about what makes a good pilot—they do as little work as possible to keep the mental load down. And flying through the soup for 90 miles with no autopilot? That seemed an awful lot like work. Well, I thought, I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask. “Memphis Approach, any chance I could stay here at seven thousand? Five thousand will put me in IMC.”

“Sure,” came the friendly reply. “Just maintain VFR on top between five and seven thousand and let me know when you’re ready to come down.” I could almost hear the jazz band playing. That approach controller didn’t know my flight conditions when he issued the descent clearance. But as soon as I made him aware, he was more than happy to help.

In my regional airline days, I was flying right seat in a Bombardier CRJ-200. The ATIS was calling for low ceilings and an ILS 18 approach into our destination. So, I began the somewhat lengthy process of getting the avionics set up, briefing the approach, and running the appropriate checklists. However, maybe 10 miles from landing, ATC called. “Turn left to a three-zero-zero heading. You are cleared for the RNAV Two-Seven approach.” Green first officer that I was, I started scrambling to set up the new approach, feeling mounting pressure to make everything happen immediately as we zipped along at 200 knots. But the captain didn’t hesitate. She asked for “delaying vectors,” magic words I had never heard before. ATC gave us an alternate heading to fly and told us to call when we were ready. No big deal.

Here’s a phrase I hope is in every student pilot’s arsenal should they find themselves struggling to understand or comply with an ATC clearance. “Student pilot here. Say again, please.” I’ve heard ATC go out of their way to slow down and make sure everything goes smoothly for new pilots. Sometimes the speed of the controller’s voice can be intimidating. But don’t forget they’re human too, and they want to help keep you safe.

Here’s another one to remember: “unable.” I was giving a private pilot checkride, sitting at the hold short line. We were planning to do a short-field takeoff. Tower told us we were cleared for immediate takeoff with an aircraft on two-mile final.

“Unable. Need a short delay,” my applicant said. ATC responded with a hold short instruction and got us out after the arriving aircraft cleared the runway. Could we have rushed in order to comply with that clearance? Probably. But why do that when it’s so easy to work with ATC on a better solution?

The Pilot/Controller Glossary (yes, I am a nerd and actually read that thing) says the “pilot may request a different clearance from that which has been issued by ATC if information available to the pilot makes another course of action more practicable...The pilot is responsible to request an amended clearance if ATC issues a clearance that...in the pilot’s opinion, would place the aircraft in jeopardy.” Many pilots don’t voice their concerns to ATC because they are afraid of sounding rude, or they feel some pressure to rush, even though a clearance may be unsafe. But pilots have not only permission, but an instruction, that we must let ATC know if we don’t think we can safely comply. That’s not being rude. That’s being a competent pilot in command. The next time you’re in the air and you get an impractical clearance, remember there are words you can say to make that figurative door swing wide open.

You just need to be willing to speak up.

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