Fri, Oct 13, 2006
Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer
statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.")
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you
may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be
something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you
through the Aero-News Network.
Aero-Tips 10.13.06
The FAA publishes what it considers to be the "Top 10" causes of
pilot-error mishaps-a category that itself makes up over 70% of all
accidents. The Feds don't rank-order the Top 10, but the first on
their list is inadequate preflight preparation and/or planning.
FAR 91.103 tells us before
flight the pilot-in-command is required to become familiar with
"all available information" concerning that flight, including:
For a flight under IFR [instrument flight rules] or a flight not
in the vicinity of an airport [including VFR flight away from the
airport traffic pattern]:
- Weather reports and forecast
- Fuel requirements
- Alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be
completed
- Any known Air Traffic Control delays
For all flights:
- Runway lengths at airports of intended use
- Required takeoff and landing distance data (if available in the
aircraft's Approved Flight Manual) or
- For aircraft without an Approved Flight Manual, "other reliable
information" relating to aircraft performance under aircraft,
airport and environmental conditions
Get real
What we really need to do to be safe, and avoid this most-common
cause of pilot error accidents, is to be able to predict with
certainty whether:
- The aircraft can safely take off from the intended runway or
surface under current weather conditions at the airplane's actual
takeoff weight using the planned pilot technique;
- The aircraft (under those conditions) can climb over any
obstacles on takeoff with an adequate safety margin;
- The airplane will have adequate fuel to arrive at destination
or, in the case of a diversion, at an alternate airport with no
less than minimum fuel required for preflight planning, using the
power setting, leaning technique and fuel tank selection process to
be employed by the pilot, accounting for any known or reasonably
expected traffic delays;
- Weather is and will remain above the minimums prescribed for
the type of flight (IFR or VFR), the airplane's equipment and the
pilot's currency, and in which direction conditions will improve in
the case a diversion becomes necessary;
- The aircraft can safely clear obstacles and land on the
intended destination runway or surface, or that of any anticipated
alternate, under forecast weather conditions for the time of
arrival, at the anticipated aircraft weight on landing, and using
the anticipated pilot technique.
Beyond the FAR requirements I would also add knowing:
- The minimum safe altitude for the type of flight (IFR or VFR),
for each segment of the flight, and from the planned route along
any alternative route to the planned destination or any anticipated
alternate.
Aero-tip of the day: If you know the answers to
all these points, and the answer is "yes", you're much more likely
to avoid this Top 10 cause of pilot error mishaps.
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