Identify Triggers Before You Leave the Ground

This is a phrase one of my aviation mentors taught me at the beginning of my flying career. He alluded to an old style mechanical watch he was issued when he attended command school.

When faced with an emergent situation, they were taught to wind the watch with four turns on the crown. The purpose of this action was to give them a few seconds to assess the situation and determine an appropriate course of action, in short, to act, not react impulsively. 

One of the most challenging aspects of being a CFI is evaluating a client for their decision-making skills. Student pilots in particular don’t know what they don’t know. The CFI is supposed to inform and explain so the student understands the choices and ramifications of each choice, and if we do our job right, learning takes place.

If the client manifests repeated behavior patterns of poor decision making or is the poster child for five hazardous attitudes (impulsivity, anti-authority, resignation, macho, and invulnerability), it is not uncommon for CFIs to opt out of flying with them. Flight instructing is a career or, at the very least, a job, and if the person receiving instruction doesn’t take direction or correction, the CFI isn’t getting through and everyone’s time is being wasted.

If the student, despite multiple admonishments, repeatedly does something foolish, even dangerous with an airplane, it can come back to hurt the CFI and the flight school. 

It could be that the client doesn’t seem to listen to anyone or has a habit of impulsive, questionable decisions, such as driving while intoxicated rather than taking an Uber or calling a friend for a ride, or borrowing someone’s personal property, even an aircraft without permission. Sadly, these people walk—and sometimes fly—among us.

Sometimes you can set yourself up for a bad decision because you don't process all the information, or don't prepare for possibilities. This is why we spend so much time learning and practicing emergency procedures. No one takes off thinking, "Today I am going to have a loss of engine power and make an unscheduled off airport landing." But it happens.

Helping the learners prepare for different situations and acquire and understand the information and options available is the job of the  CFI. Expect your instructor to pepper you with “what if?” questions before they endorse you for solo flight or cross-country.

It starts with a scenario. The private pilot learner was preparing for a solo cross-country flight to an airport he'd never been to before. He presented me with his navlog and weather briefing notes. His penmanship and attention to detail were admirable. Per his calculations, it would take 11 of the 37 gallons he had on board to get to the destination.

"If you can't land at (insert name of destination airport) because the runway is blocked by a disabled aircraft, what will you do?" I asked.

"Land on the taxiway," he replied quickly.

There was one of those awkward pauses, and I think I manifested my teacher face as I asked, "Why would you do that? Are you on fire? Out of fuel? Is there a reason to land on the taxiway?"

He looked surprised, and you could see the wheels turning as he processed the information, then he amended his answer to "I think I would divert to another airport."

He spent the next few minutes looking for airports along the route that would be suitable for diverting. There was a discussion, and he crunched the performance numbers. When I endorsed his logbook, I included two of the "divert" airports as ones where landings were authorized. This was followed with a discussion about emergencies and the authority of the PIC to take whatever action necessary to meet the emergency, which includes landing at any suitable airport.

One of the most challenging things for a pilot to do is cancel a flight or turn back, especially when you are flying with passengers or other pilots. I submit one of the most dangerous situations in an airplane is when people start flying by committee, or the pilot feels pressured to continue a flight when signs point to landing as soon as practical.

This is particularly true when it comes to weather. A good technique is to write down your personal weather minimums for each flight and note triggers for taking action and possible action to be taken, such as "if the visibility drops below 5 miles and I am in the practice area, I will return to the airport" or "if I encounter an issue with the radio during a solo cross-country flight to a Class D airport, I will divert and land at the nearest suitable nontowered airport and trouble shoot the issue."

Continuation bias is the unconscious cognitive bias to stick with the original plan in spite of changing conditions. Pilots need to recognize this and guard against it.

One of the most important lessons I learned as a student pilot and that I pass on to my learners is that "we are not flying the last chopper out of Saigon"—meaning, don't get so committed to the mission that you push on when things are starting to go awry. Perhaps the ceiling and visibility are diminishing. Do you really have to continue with the plan or would changing the plan be a better, safer option?

It is often those actual unplanned events during flight that can be the most useful as learning tools. Because you’re not flying the last chopper.