03/09 – A Lesson in Judgment

03/09 – A Lesson in Judgment

By Steve Krog

Flying, like driving a car or riding a motorcycle, involves a certain amount of training as well as some risk. To fly safely, you need to know how to judge the level of risk, how to minimize it, and when to accept it. This process is called aeronautical decision making.

The FAA defines aeronautical decision making as “A systematic approach to the mental process used by aircraft pilots to consistently determine the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances.” Before your eyes glaze over and you decide not to read further, let’s treat this definition as “Typical bureaucratic legalese!”

Aeronautical decision making, in the simplest of terms, is doing the right thing at the right time. In other words, learning and putting to practice good judgment, which is the ability to decide what is right, good, and practical.

One of the most challenging parts of flight instruction is teaching a student pilot aeronautical decision making - good judgment! Countless hours can be spent in the classroom on this subject, but I find students will understand and acquire good judgment - or aeronautical decision making - through practical examples.

Let’s take a look at a scenario that could easily happen to you, analyze it, and then point out what you would have done while exercising good aeronautical decision making. Here’s the situation:

You, a fairly new sport pilot, and your friend, both call the Midwest home, and are on a short vacation to the East Coast. The sky is beautifully blue and filled with bright sunlight. Wouldn’t it be a lot of fun to see and photograph this part of the country from the air? A Fixed Base Operation (FBO), located within a mile of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline, is contacted and an airplane reserved for your use for the afternoon.

Arriving at the FBO a bit late, the FBO’s chief pilot is pressed for time, so after reviewing your logbook and driver’s license, he OK’s your flight and departs on a charter flight.

Performing a quick preflight of the airplane you note a small amount of fluid on the left main gear tire. The line person states that the fuel tanks have been topped off but the left tank gauge doesn’t read accurately, and suggests you had better get moving because scattered thunderstorms are forecast later in the day.

You and your friend hop in the airplane, adjust the seats, seatbelts and shoulder harness, and begin searching for the start-up checklist. Unable to locate it, you use the much-abbreviated placard checklist mounted on the instrument panel. With the engine running you immediately begin to taxi toward the runway. Oops! You then remember this is a tower-controlled airport operating in Class D airspace.

A quick search of the seat pockets turns up a badly mutilated Sectional Map. The tower frequency is located and quickly dialed into the panel radio. However, you quickly realize it is significantly different from any radio you’re familiar with. It takes a number of radio calls and turning of the knobs before the now frustrated tower control operator can be heard. With a tone of sarcasm in his voice he directs you to make a 180-degree turn and get back onto the taxiway. In your rush to get airborne along with your unfamiliarity with the airport, you had begun taxiing down a service road leading to the windsock rather than the end of the runway.

Back on the taxiway, you complete another abbreviated pre-takeoff checklist and note the ammeter light is flickering. You decide it must be due to the extended run and taxi time that drew down the battery and assure yourself it will go off as soon as you can get in the air.

Cleared for takeoff, you are on your way. Once in the air, out of the traffic pattern, and in level flight at approximately 1,000 feet AGL, you and your friend relax and begin to enjoy the beautiful coastline scenery. After thirty minutes of blissfully beautiful sight seeing, the sky has begun filling with huge billowing white clouds that seem to be rising at a rapid rate. Glancing to the west, the horizon has grown dark and it appears a line of rapidly growing thunderstorms is approaching. Not to worry though. You have the radio knowledge to call Flight Service and get a briefing on the approaching weather. However, several radio calls later, and unable to reach Flight Service, the pit in your stomach begins to tighten and beads of perspiration begin to form on the back of your neck. That red flickering ammeter light is now solid red! Now what?

Turning back toward the departure airport, the sky is getting darker, the once smooth air is getting quite choppy and your friend is beginning to show signs of major discomfort. Spinning the radio knobs you quickly dial in ATIS to get an update on the airport surface conditions, but the transmission is broken and cutting out. You can’t make out the wind direction and runway in use but you did hear that they are experiencing peak gusts of 25 knots!

Switching to the tower frequency, the broken transmissions sound as if the entire east coast fleet of general aviation aircraft is trying to land at your airport of departure. What should you do?

Let’s discontinue the practical example at this point, go back to the beginning and analyze what a pilot practicing good aeronautical decision making, or judgment would have done.

Good Aeronautical Decision Making Practices

You, a new, low-time pilot, about to embark on a flight in a geographic area in which you have no experience.

Talk to a local pilot or flight instructor and get a briefing on what it is like to fly the coastline. Are there unusual winds? Rapid changes in weather conditions? What can you expect to encounter as a “flatland flyer”?
Get a current weather briefing from any of the reputable sources. The briefer would have advised you that at this time of year late afternoon scattered thunderstorms are the norm and you may want to be back on the ground before they develop.

Arriving at the airport later than planned, it is quite easy to get in a hurry and compromise decisions that may affect your safe flight.

Did you ask for and look at the airplane logbooks? How do you know the airplane is even legal to fly? As pilot in command it is your responsibility to assure the airplane is legal for flight.
If the panel layout is different than what you are familiar with, did you get a briefing so that you knew how to operate the radio and other navigation devices?

NOTE: This example is somewhat unreal for training purposes. Seldom will an FBO rent you an airplane without first taking a short familiarization ride with you to determine that you are a safe, competent pilot worthy of renting their airplane.

You performed a quick preflight without thoroughly checking over the airplane.

Had you done so you would have noticed the left brake line was leaking and the aircraft should be grounded. However, the FBO was anxious to make a dollar so it made no mention of it, nor did you take issue with it.
The line person told you the airplane had just had the fuel tanks topped off. Did you do a visual check to ensure they were full? That the fuel caps were installed properly?
The line person also mentioned the left fuel gauge was inaccurate. This will not ground the airplane as fuel gauges need only be accurate, according to the FAR’s, when the gauges accurately read EMPTY. A visual check of the left tank fuel level would have put your mind and your stomach at ease.
Is all of the required paperwork in the airplane to make it legal? In this case a check of the Airworthiness Certificate, Registration, the Operations & Limitations documents, and current Weight and Balance information should be in the airplane and visible to you and your passenger. As pilot in command, it is your responsibility to check these items.

You and your passenger jumped into the airplane and prepared to start the engine only to find no checklist.

The checklist may be a separate document readily available. However, this information is almost always included in the Operations & Limitations information.
Thorough pre-flight planning would also have made you aware that you would be operating in a Class D control tower environment. Two-way radio contact with the tower is required before airplane movement takes place. A quick review of the Airport Facility Directory (AFD) would have provided you with the needed radio frequencies and other airport information pertinent to a safe flight. A current map is also required to be in the airplane and easily accessible to the pilot.

After sightseeing for a period of time the weather began to sour, a radio call to Flight Service went unanswered, and the ammeter light was solid red.

As mentioned previously, good preflight weather briefing would have warned you of the developing afternoon thunderstorms.
The red flickering Ammeter light should have tipped you off during the pre-takeoff run-up and checklist. Overlooking it then has now caused you a good deal of uneasiness.

Turning back toward the airport the air is turbulent, your friend is physically uncomfortable, your radio is not functioning properly, and the traffic pattern is beginning to look like a beehive.

Your radio problem has now multiplied. The failing electrical system together with your unfamiliarity of the radio has caused another growing problem. You need to talk to the control tower but you’ve lost your radio. There are specific procedures to follow when encountering such a situation. This information can be found in the Airman’s Information Manual (AIM). We’ll take this up in a future article.

Throughout the course of your flight training your flight instructor will work with you by simulating each of the situations. You will then identify the potential problem, suggest alternative solutions, and put into practice the best solution. Through practice, your experience in aeronautical decision making rapidly grows.

Early in your flight training these simulated situations may get you a little flustered. But don’t get discouraged. In fact, as you experience these situations, your knowledge, confidence, and judgment will grow. Each of these exercises is a learning experience helping you become a safe, competent pilot, preparing you for many hours and years of safe enjoyable flight.

In the next issue we will begin the cross-country flight training phase.

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