RAMP OPERATIONS

Acknowledgements: AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION USA

Blog Editor’s Note: Safety in the air is paramount but we sometimes need to be reminded of things with the potential to cause harm at ground level, so here are a few thoughts provided by AOPA. I make no apologies to our experienced pilot readers for re-stating the obvious!

In the USA over a ten-year period 350 aircraft accidents occurred in the ramp area. Only a few proved fatal, but over 80% caused damage to other aircraft and property on the ground. In 18% of the accidents, death or serious injury resulted from people walking into moving propellers. 62% of all ramp accidents occurred during taxi, and most accidents were the result of carelessness and/or lack of awareness.

Hazards

Hazards on the ramp can come from many directions, so here are a few pointers to help you anticipate danger and manage the risks.

Get the big picture: At an unfamiliar airport, research traffic flows around the taxi and tie-down areas, and always keep a lookout for aircraft in motion. On arrival, if you’re not sure where to park, radio the tower and ask. After shutdown be careful walking in the ramp area, as there may be more traffic than you’re used to.

Don’t rely on your ears: Ramp noise can mask danger. The sounds of aircraft in the pattern, jets idling on the ramp, and noisy fuel trucks can be distracting, and can keep you from hearing someone yell “clear!” or other warnings of impending danger.

Look out below (and above): On the ramp tripping hazards abound, and the consequences can be much worse than a skinned knee. But don’t fixate on the ground. Most of us don’t expect to encounter many hazards at eye level and above, so it’s all too easy to walk straight into aircraft wing or tail surfaces when not paying attention.

Don’t be a litterbug: Foreign objects can damage aircraft, propellers, or jet engines. Eating or drinking on the ramp are distractions, and often result in leftover wrappers or cups which can be sucked into engines, or blown around by jet or prop blast. Leave all trash in the building, and if you see something lying around on the ramp, pick it up and throw it away.

Be careful in the car: If allowed to drive any vehicle on the ramp, remember that road rules do not necessarily apply. On taxiways, drive along the centre-line to remain visible and clear of parked aircraft. Drive slowly, and stop and look before pulling out from buildings and other blind spots. Aircraft ALWAYS have the right-of-way over vehicles except when the Tower has specifically instructed an aircraft to give way to vehicle(s) on a runway or taxiway.

Pre-flight check: Distractions can impact safety both on the ramp and during your upcoming flight. Unless you’re giving a flight lesson, conduct the pre-flight without discussion or interruption: You can explain things to passengers after you’ve finished.

Propellers: Avoid walking through the prop rotation area  except when checking the blades, spinner, and air inlets. With piston aircraft, do not rotate the prop by hand unless you are prepared for the engine to start. Numerous deaths and serious injuries have resulted from hand-propping gone awry. Treat all propellers as though the engine magnetos are HOT. Approach only after the ignition is OFF and the keys are in your pocket. Hot magnetos happen when the P-lead breaks and the magneto becomes ungrounded. This can cause an engine to start just from having the propeller pulled through. To check for a hot magneto you should:

1. Just prior to shutdown, reduce power to idle

2. Slowly move the key through the Left, Right, and then OFF positions. The RPM should drop at each magneto position and stop in the OFF position

3. After the engine has shut down, pull the mixture to idle cut-off.

If the engine continues to run in the OFF position, shut the engine down with the mixture and mark the aircraft as having a hot magneto.

  

Jets and Helicopters: Never walk behind a running jet aircraft, no matter how small the engines look. At high power settings, exhaust from the engines on even the smallest jets can reach speeds near 200 mph. Jets have also been known to suck in loose clothing, hats, and even unsuspecting humans from the front! Helicopter rotor blades hang dangerously low when the aircraft is parked. Unless properly trained or under the supervision of the flight crew, never approach a running helicopter for any reason.

Passenger Safety: Every year, there are accidents where passengers are seriously or fatally injured by walking into a prop. Remind passengers to stay clear of any aircraft with a running engine, or with its strobe or beacon lights on. It is a good idea to steer clear of aircraft anytime pilots are in the cockpit, as there’s a good chance that the engine will be starting soon. Once in the aircraft with the engine running, make sure that nobody enters or leaves the aircraft without first shutting down the engine.

Look down, look up, and look out!

FAMOUS LAST WORDS… OR THOUGHTS

Acknowledgements: AIR FACTS/Richard Collins

It wouldn’t take three guesses to come up with the one word most often heard just before a crash. But more important than that last word is the thought process that led to it. Some famous last thoughts have stood out over the years.

“I THINK I CAN MAKE IT”

This probably precedes serious trouble more than any other thought. The definition of pilot-in-command defines absolute responsibility and given that, a pilot should be able to know that what he is about to do is reasonable and proper. Let’s look at this in relation to weather. The relationship between the VFR pilot and marginal weather is one of the most complex relationships in flying. Not only are there no black and white answers, there are hundreds of shades of grey. If a VFR pilot starts flying out of VFR the only option might be a 180 and return to better weather, but a study of accidents suggests that a real hazard is flying into the ground during the 180, or if visual reference is lost, losing control of the airplane.

“I’LL SEE IF I CAN MAKE IT”

Maybe the IFR approach version of “I think I can make it” becomes “I’ll see if I can make it”. The IFR version can be even more deadly than the VFR version, especially if it is done in the dark or if repeat approaches are flown after a missed approach. The strong urge is to continue onward and downward, and the resultant accident history is pretty grim. When there is doubt, leave it alone or confirm the possibility of getting there VFR or of completing an instrument approach. Then never go below minimums unless you can really see. A PIC has to make good decisions all the way to the hangar or tie-down.

“I’LL PICK MY WAY THROUGH THOSE STORMS”

A clear example of the relationship between airplanes, pilots and thunderstorms comes when you compare the airline record with the private flying record in piston airplanes. In 50 years I know of only two jet airliners that crashed after a tussle with thunderstorms in the U.S. Listing the private piston airplanes lost over that period would take pages. We don’t lose airplanes in thunderstorms because they have weak wings. In fact, the G-tolerance of our airplanes is generally greater than that of most jetliners. Weight and size though count big time when an airplane is flown into a thunderstorm. Our lighter airplanes are more difficult to control in a storm, and once control is lost the airspeed goes off the chart and then the airframe fails.

“IT NEVER HURTS TO TAKE A LOOK”

When using private airplanes for transportation, pilots have almost absolute flexibility. If we take a look and don’t like it, there’s often an airport close by where a new plan can be made. I have written before about drawing lines in the sky and not crossing those lines unless it looks okay to continue. Piston airplanes don’t go that fast, so weather can vary greatly from a forecast in the time it takes to fly just a short distance. If that happens, you do want to be thinking “continue?” instead of “go”.

“IT’LL FLY WITH EVERYTHING YOU CAN CRAM INTO IT”

Overloading airplanes is not unheard of, but it is not a good idea. Every little bit above the maximum certified weight takes away a corresponding amount of margin. The stalling speed goes up and the G-tolerance goes down to say nothing of the soggy rate of climb and reduced cruising speed and range. Best just fly an airplane that meets your weight needs.

“IT LOOKS LONG ENOUGH TO ME”

The runway length POH numbers are for new airplanes flown by test pilots. Just using these provides absolutely no margin. There are several rules of thumb for a takeoff or landing on a runway that is shorter than usual. For a minimum runway length for take-off, use the distance required to take off and clear a 50-foot obstacle. Or add the required takeoff run to the required landing roll to give room for take-off and a safe stop if things don’t seem to be developing well. For landing, adding 60-percent to the distances shown in the POH is the way to go.

AND THEN THERE IS NO THOUGHT AT ALL

Reading the last words of a pilot or crew is unpleasant. What I have learned is that in most cases the pilot didn’t know what was wrong, so was unable to think through the situation and arrive at a solution, or even a reason for his plight. When instructing or flying with other pilots I would often ask: “What are you thinking about?” when they were getting farther and farther “behind the airplane”. The two common answers were “Nothing” and “I don’t know”. Bad thinking or simply no thinking? When a pilot flies an airplane into a low-speed loss of control accident, his thought process has failed. Nobody is going to stall an airplane at low altitude intentionally, so it is apparent that rational thinking ended and the pilot became a passenger. To combat this, talk to yourself about what you are doing, as describing actions and conditions keeps the mind active. Power problems often lead to low speed loss of control and if, as a pilot flies into such a situation, he is thinking that this is an excellent opportunity to bust the old butt if the airspeed and angle of attack are not managed properly, then the chances of survival go up.

FLY SAFE!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

Acknowledgements: AIR FACTS/John Zimmerman

Blog Editor’s note: This is an exercise for you to complete if you wish. There is no need to send any response to anyone – just think about the accident reported below and consider how you might prevent such a situation from happening to you.

Not all accidents happen on dark and stormy nights. The crash of a Cirrus SR20 outside Chicago in 2013 is a tragic example, as a seemingly normal flight ended in flames.

The pilot was landing on runway 18 at Bolingbrook’s Clow Airport after a three hour flight from Kentucky. The weather was quite good, with clear skies and warm temperatures. Wind was from 070 degrees at 8 knots: Hardly dangerous, but perhaps a factor given the pilot’s decision to land to the south.

After a normal arrival into the Chicago area, the 63-year old pilot, who had logged roughly 350 hours of total time, set up for a landing on the 3300 ft. runway. The report stated: “The airplane touched down multiple times at least half way down the runway. The airplane was observed to take off from the runway and then made a left turn.” It seems as though the pilot attempted a go-around, but lost control shortly after taking off again. The airplane crashed just off the airport property and caught fire, with both the pilot and passenger fatally injured.

How could such a seemingly simple landing in such a modern airplane and in such good weather go so terribly wrong? The radar reconstruction shows that “the airplane had an average rate of descent of 1,301 feet per minute and an average ground speed of 117 knots on final approach.”

If a good landing begins with a good approach, this airplane never had a chance. But a bad approach does not automatically lead to a fatal crash. When is it too late to start a go-around? How can a go-around be conducted safely?

Like every accident, the pilot did not set out to crash his airplane that day. It was hardly a high risk day, with cooperative weather and an airplane that showed no signs of pre-impact failure. But a combination of decisions and control inputs led to a tragic outcome; an outcome all of us would like to avoid.

Now it’s your turn. What can you learn from this accident? How can you avoid a situation like this? Add a comment below, but follow three rules:

1.      Assume it could happen to you

2.      Don’t blame the pilot – this is not a trial but a learning experience

3.     Determine what you can do to next time you fly to prevent such a situation from occurring.

FLY SAFE!

FIXED-WING LANDING ACCIDENTS

Acknowledgements: GASCO/Nigel Everett

Landing accidents form the greatest proportion of total accidents reported by GA aircraft, and we may be sure that there are also many other landings which only just escape injury or damage and thus are not reported as accidents.

The good news is that they are seldom fatal, and so the usual outcome is damage to aircraft but little personal injury, although as a result the cost of higher insurance premiums can be considerable, as can the loss of self-regard and confidence on the part of those involved.

Employing the three disciplines described below will greatly reduce the likelihood of a landing accident if done right, or greatly increase it if done wrong.

1.       Established on finals

In the airline world there is a minimum height requirement for becoming fully-established on final approach, and we GA pilots should adopt the same discipline voluntarily. Decide upon a minimum fully-established height, recommended by Jeremy Pratt to be 300 ft. but taking account of your own personal parameters in terms of experience and confidence, and ensure that you have done everything needed to prepare for landing by the time you attain that height. After which do not attempt to correct anything which is not as it ought to be for maintaining the fully-established condition – airspeed, trim, configuration, final checks, ATC clearance if appropriate etc. If after that point any adjustment is needed GO AROUND! This will greatly reduce your chances of a landing accident.

2.       Approach speed

The accepted approach speed for a powered light aircraft is 133% of stall speed in landing configuration and at current weight, though some prefer 125% as it gives a shorter float and landing run - but also of course less margin for error! In windy conditions you should add a “gust factor” equating to 50% of the difference between current wind strength and gust speed. High speed on landing is likely to result from a high speed approach.

If flying a tail-dragger a high speed landing is rarer as a high-speed approach will not achieve an acceptable 3-point touchdown. The problem is more acute with a tricycle geared aircraft, as the pilot can “get away with” a 3-pointer as long as the nose-wheel doesn’t make contact significantly ahead of the main wheels. Thus we frequently see a nose-wheel aircraft arriving too fast and touching down flat after very little holding off, which means that the aircraft is still partially flying. Many landing accident reports reveal problems in the roll-out rather than the touchdown, because the aircraft landed whilst flying so that the brakes and nose-wheel did not function as expected. This is generally avoidable if the pilot does not allow the aircraft to touch down until it has run out of flying speed.

    3.   Flaps

Studies have shown that the incidence of accident is inversely proportional to the amount of flap deployed. More flap = fewer accidents so the advice is to use more to stay safer, because you will achieve a slower touchdown with less reaction to gusting, and a more “draggy” and stable aircraft. The transition from airborne to ground borne is risk-inherent, and the use of flaps helps to minimise the duration of the landing phase and to improve control during it.

FLY SAFE!

“FLYING IS BORING,” SAID NO PILOT. EVER.

Acknowledgements: AIR FACTS/Steve Thompson

Most will agree that on a long VFR flight, there are stretches of time when your mind can wander. Other than doing the usual drills, here are the top activities for putting that time to good use:

10. Play with the ADF. If you’re blessed with older avionics, chances are good that you have an ADF in your panel. While the antiquated Automatic Direction Finder is intended to provide navigation based on the location of an AM radio station, it also allows you to tune into the AM broadcast band, where you can find some interesting programs to listen to; and by watching the ADF needle and confirming the station on your chart, you’ll learn more about how to use your ADF.

9. Submit a PIREP. Regardless of weather conditions, even if it’s clear and smooth air, reach out to Flight Service and give them a PIREP. You’ll become familiar with the format and exchange, and it’ll be useful information for the next pilot who comes along. If you have forgotten the standard dialog, just ask Flight Service to help you through the process and they’ll be glad to do so.

8. Create an efficient scan of critical instruments. If you’ve not already developed an optimal scan pattern, then here’s your opportunity to create one – this might be a left to right, top to bottom scan, or another pattern depending on your panel layout. Then, use your scan regularly… someday it might give you a warning of impending failure and you’ll be glad you caught it early.

7. Play the Alphabet Game. If you’re flying with your kids, then play the Alphabet Game with tail number suffixes heard on the radio. It’s a way for young pilots-to-be to learn the Phonetic Alphabet, and it encourages them to listen what’s going on with ARTCC.

6. Refresh your VOR skills. VORs are slowly being phased out, but are still valid means of determining your location should alternatives be unavailable. If you have a NAV radio, tune to the nearest VOR and confirm the CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) indication agrees with other means of navigation. If you’ve got two CDI instruments, play with triangulation and predict when both CDI needles will swing through centre.

5. Monitor NRST. Most aviation GPS units have a “NRST” button, allowing you to instantly see a list of the nearest airports. Watching this list will give you increased situational awareness, and it’s also fun to visually identify the airports you see on the list as you go by them.

4. If my engine quit right now… where would I land? Develop the habit of looking at regular intervals for an emergency landing spot. If it’s a road, is it clear of power lines? Are the trees alongside the road too close for comfort? How well traveled is the road? If it’s farm land, are there furrows to be considered? Or, if it’s rocky, raw desert, which surface is going to give me the best chances of walking away after the landing? If my aircraft flipped over during landing, how would I escape? It’s time well spent.

3. So, if my engine did quit… what speed would I immediately establish? Vglide is the speed which produces the farthermost glide if you were to lose power. During cruise, pull out the POH and confirm the Vglide speed. Then, commit it to memory. On most aircraft, it will be roughly half way between Vx (best angle of climb) and Vy (best rate of climb). Vglide speed increases with weight, and the published speed is likely computed for a max gross weight configuration. Is your best glide speed a knot or two less since you’re under gross? Know this number; it might save your life in an emergency.

2. Turn off the GPS. If you’re running a GPS, then turn it off or disable it for a bit. Look outside for visual cues – mountain tops, highways, power lines, railroad tracks – and match them to your chart. Then make a guess at your precise location and turn the GPS back on to see how close you were. If your GPS ever fails, then by occasionally having taken this challenge, you’ll feel more comfortable navigating solely by the chart.

1. Enjoy the flight. During the short golden age of powered flight, only a select few of us have the aptitude, ability and budget to be a PIC. This puts pilots in an elite group of human beings. Our privilege to fly at will could be threatened in the future by technological changes, personal budget, health, and even political climate – so pause for a moment and consider how fortunate we are to be pilots. We’ve got it so good!

FLY SAFE!

LEARNING TO SAY “NO”

Acknowledgements: AIR FACTS/John Zimmerman

A check-ride is always a stressful time for student pilots, as months of preparation culminate in a big test and hopefully a new certificate. It’s also a time when new pilots go from the clearly defined instructor-student relationship to the much fuzzier examiner-applicant relationship. Who’s in charge? The simple answer is the applicant, but an accident from late 2013 shows how tricky this question can be in real life. It also offers some lessons for all pilots.

The student pilot wasn’t going far in his rented Cessna 182, just 20 nm to a neighboring airport to meet a designated pilot examiner for his Private Pilot practical test. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating, with a 600 ft. overcast and 4 miles visibility at his departure airport. The pilot called the examiner to discuss the weather, and the accident report included the following.

According to the Examiner, the student pilot called him on the morning of the accident and informed him there was a cloud deck at his departure airfield. He told the student that the cloud deck was probably a thin layer which would burn off, and that he should make the flight after the weather cleared up.

How this was interpreted by the pilot we’ll never know, but a short time later surveillance cameras at the airport show the 182 departing. The airplane flew just two miles on runway heading before crashing and killing the pilot. Examination of the airplane did not show any mechanical malfunctions or pre-impact failures. It appears to be a simple VFR-into-IMC accident.

Unlike some of these scenarios, the pilot didn’t stumble into ever-worsening weather. He was aware of this as demonstrated by his phone call to the examiner. So why would he launch into weather that was obviously unsafe for VFR flight?

The report makes note of the student’s known “gung-ho” personality, suggesting he was not afraid to take some risk. He was a successful, goal-oriented person who viewed aviation as a way to support his business, and his flight instructor had previously warned him about trying to “push too hard” to complete a trip.

So, on the surface this may sound like a reckless pilot who did not recognize his limitations, which may be part of it but other details suggest this to be an oversimplification. According to the CFI the student was feeling self-imposed pressure to complete his flight training, and this combined with his personality created the possibility of a potentially unsafe flight. 

With that in mind, the examiner’s comment about the cloud deck burning off seems like the final straw. Here is a much more experienced pilot suggesting that the clouds are not a major problem, since they will not last long. While the examiner clearly said he should not fly until after the weather cleared up, the student may have taken that as encouragement to make the trip. He may have heard what he wanted to hear. And it was only a 20 mile flight.

Regardless of the pilot’s thinking, this accident is a reminder for all pilots that only the person controlling the yoke is pilot in command. That authority cannot be outsourced to anyone else and whilst saying “No”, even to implicit pressure or harmless suggestions, is sometimes hard to learn, it’s a life-saving skill, which faces pilots of all experience levels.

•  When a controller says there’s a gap in the weather but you’re not sure, do you resist that subtle pressure? 
• When a mechanic says the airplane is ready to go but you have your doubts, do you trust your own judgment?
• When a flying buddy says the weather is good enough to go but it’s below your personal minima, do you stand firm?

 These are all hard questions, and of course the right answer is not necessarily to cancel every flight at the first sign of trouble. But there is only one vote that counts in the go/no go decision: that of the PIC. Guard that power jealously.

FLY SAFE!

BASIC STICK & RUDDER SKILLS - HAVE WE LOST TOUCH?

The following is condensed from an article published in the Autumn edition of the GASCO Flight Safety Magazine.

Acknowledgements and thanks: GASCO/Gerry Humphreys

Loss of control is increasingly evident in fatal accidents in both GA and commercial operations, and the key to avoiding it is Angle of Attack Awareness.

For those wanting to learn to fly in as short a time as possible simulators are used to teach standard and emergency procedures, and to minimise costs. However, they do not recreate the effect of “G”, without which the trainee is missing out on experiencing instruction in an important skills area. Thus many trainees rarely get to fly a turn above 45⁰ angle of bank, or a pitch of 20⁰.

AoA is important in determining whether a wing flies or not, so understanding it is vital if we are to understand what is happening when we pilot an aircraft. LIFT and DRAG are directly related to SPEED and AoA, but whereas we seem to concentrate on speed, AoA is the more fundamental concept to be grasped; because STALL is related to AoA alone. A good Instructor will thus introduce the concept of AoA at an early stage of training.

Primary Elevator effect:         

Stick back, AoA of wing increases, lift increases, aircraft climbs

Secondary Elevator effect:    

Stick back, AoA of wing increases, drag increases, speed decreases

Speed .v. AoA relationship:

High speed, Low AoA; Low speed, High AoA

Primary Aileron effect:

Change in the LOCAL AoA, which alters Lift and Drag in their own Area. Wing rises, 

Lift & Drag increase; Wing falls, Lift & Drag decrease

Secondary Aileron effect:

Yaw in the opposite direction to the input roll. In an established bank, an aircraft will first

slip then yaw in the same direction as the input roll, but at this stage the ailerons are actually

NEUTRAL. Any subsequent slip & yaw will be an effect of Angle of Bank & Stability, 

not aileron control input

Keep the ball in the middle:

If not, the ailerons will be deflected, with one wing at a higher AoA than the other.

Approaching a critical overall AoA, the down-deflected aileron will stall first

Spin training:

Of limited value in the real world, as most fatal spins occur too close to the ground to enable

recovery. Better to train prevention by means of realistic stall training incorporating AoA

Awareness.

Feeling the Force:

Much steep-turn training is done at 45⁰ AoB, but training at 60⁰ AoB as well is beneficial 

in two ways:

-     It demonstrates that the increased lift needed demands an increased AoA: 

      Stick back further = more lift = more drag  = more power required

-    The pilot can experience what 2G feels like, and if on pulling the stick back you feel 2G,

      you have enough lift to fly. You will not stall unless speed reduces, so given sufficient

      terrain clearance and the application of correct technique, recovery is achievable. If you

      don’t feel the force you need more speed or a lower AoA for the lift equation to work

FLY SAFE!

7 ways to scare yourself in an airplane - and how to learn from them

Acknowledgements:
AIRFACTS/John Zimmerman

John says: Sometimes the only way to learn an important lesson is to scare yourself just a little. We try to fill the experience bucket before the luck bucket gets to empty. Here are seven common ways to do it, and before you say it could never happen to you, remember that pilots don’t crash aeroplanes because they want to. That’s why we call them accidents.

1. Run low on fuel. So common, and yet fuel is one thing we have almost total control over. Poor planning combines with ‘get-home-itis’ until the pilot runs low on both fuel and options. Most of the time, the pilot lands before the engine quits, but usually not before a lasting impression is made.

Lesson: Be pessimistic in your calculations. Aim always to land with one hour of fuel in the tanks.

2. VFR into IMC/scud running. Similar causes, but whereas low fuel is pretty easy to monitor, there is no instrument to measure “low weather.” There are FARs to define legal VFR, but where’s the line between safe and legal? Pilots sometimes become overly optimistic, taking false comfort when the forecast says “it shouldn’t be this bad.” The only weather report that matters is what you see ahead. Ignore it and, you scare yourself by flying dangerously low or skimming in and out of cloud.

Lesson: Trust METARs, and the trends indicated in them, more than TAFs. Consider your flight as a series of “go a little further/stop going” decisions instead of a single “go/no go” option. If you have to go down or slow down more than once, it’s time to divert.

3. Close call in the traffic pattern. Most pilots can remember at least one close call, with one flying a standard pattern and another making up his/her own arrival or transit. Often exacerbated by poor radio calls and a lack of awareness. Both airplanes bank to miss each other and tempers usually flare afterwards.

Lesson:  Fly the standard pattern, making clear position reports. Assume other pilots won’t be so conscientious, so fly defensively. Keep your visual scan going and raise or lower a wing to double check. Have a sense of where each airplane is in the pattern, and if unsure, ask!

4. Runway incursion. Given clearance to cross the runway, as I did so I saw a Falcon 900 barrelling down it. I had been lazy, and was lucky! Turned out he was landing and stopped well short of me, but it was a clear reminder that airmanship is required also on the ground.

Lesson: Trust, but verify. I say to myself “clear left, clear right, cleared to cross” when crossing a runway.

 

5. High density altitude take-off. The first take-off at an airport above 5,000 ft. is a real attention-getter. Combine elevation with high temperature and a non-turbocharged engine and you have a long take-off roll and a slow climb. It’s hard to resist the urge to pull back even more, but don’t!

Lesson: Don’t assume your airplane can do it – build in some healthy margins. You can’t make the airplane fly if it doesn’t want to.

6. Falling asleep in flight. You close your eyes for a moment …. When you wake up, you instantly look to the fuel gauges and GPS. You call ATC to make sure you didn’t miss a radio call while you were “off air.” It may have only been seconds, but you’ll remember the scary feeling forever.

Lesson: The old “eight hours bottle to throttle” is a bare minimum. If you’ve been working hard or playing hard, make an honest assessment of whether you’re safe to fly. When in doubt, delay the flight.

7. In-flight icing. A frightening event for most pilots, especially in airplanes with no de-icing equipment. Whilst we’re getting better at forecasting ice, the when, where and why it happens is still a mystery to many.

Lesson: If the temperature is below 5C and/or you’re in cloud, be alert. Learn to read Nature’s signs of possible icing: Lows, temperature inversions, strong lifting forces etc. Look for reports of cloud tops so you know whether getting on top is an option. Do not linger in ice, even with de-icing equipment. Execute your backup plan immediately (you do have one, right?).

Any of the above ring a bell?

FLY SAFE!