ExpertAviator.com

Here it is – Episode #7 of the Stuck Mic AvCast! My gosh we’re having soooo much fun recording and sharing these podcasts with you all. Today’s episode has some particularly great gold nuggets of information and some pretty hilarious moments of tomfoolery, too. So let’s get started!

Pre-Flight
*Review of the joint UCAP & Stuck Mic AvCast brunch meet up at the Midfield Cafe at Boire Field, Nashua, NH (KASH)
*Oshkosh Airventure 2011 Highlights by Victoria and Len

Cruise Flight
*Women in Aviation Forum on how to run a woman friendly aviation business
*Ditching an aircraft in water – how to egress and other survival tips
*The Impossible Turn – what to do when your engine quits on takeoff
*Picking an active runway at non-towered airports – how to handle other traffic flying non-standard patterns

After Landing Checklist

Picks of The Week

Victoria – Crooked Island Lodge, Bahamas

Rick – Clarity Aloft Aviation Headset

Len – AvPad iPad Kneeboard

Carl – DunkYou Water Egress Training

Thanks for listening to the Stuck Mic AvCast. As always, you can submit your questions and feedback via blog comments, Twitter, Facebook, or email and we’ll be sure to answer them on the air!

Listen To The Podcast:

[audio:https://expertaviator.com/podcasts/StuckMicAvCast_-_Episode_7_-_Oshkosh_Highlights_Ditching_in_Water_Engine_Failures_on_Takeoff.mp3
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(Note: This is a guest post I wrote for AirTransparency.com a blog created because "It has become an American pastime to hate the airlines." Air Transparency is trying to change that.)

Clear skies, smooth ride, and tail winds means we should arrive at our destination a few minutes early. It is a great day to fly and once again welcome aboard." As I ended my passenger announcement I couldn't imagine a better day to fly. This is going to be a stress free and relaxing day. So I thought.

Just yesterday my friend asked me what the most difficult parts of my job is as an airline pilot. I said "closing the cabin door". He smiled and shook his head in acknowledgement since he was a frequent flyer and understood my statement. Today was going to be one of those difficult days.

Bags on board and pre flight checks complete, we where ready to go until the flight attendant pokes her redden face into the flight deck and says "Captain I'm having a problem with a passenger can you help me".

I knew there was trouble because the flight attendant knows my name and was using it up until this point, so I knew she was frustrated. In a flustered voice she related how a passenger was unwilling to check their bag and it would not fit in the overhead. The person was being rude and she was at her wits end.

I told her to calm down and I would have a supervisor speak with the passenger. Years ago I would go back to talk to the passenger but I have learned some people have no qualms in attacking a flight crew member. Besides, if I was hurt during the process the flight would be delayed even further or possibly cancelled. Supervisors have training in defusing these types of situations and many do so with incredible ease and professionalism.

After the supervisor came on board the situation was quickly resolved and we were on our way with the passenger’s bag safely stowed in the cargo compartment. The passenger seemed satisfied when we told her we would bring the bag up to the gate and she would not have to go to baggage claim to retrieve it. Feeling confident in an easy day ahead I smiled at the flight attendant and said “crisis averted”. Maybe I should have remembered my friend telling me that bad things normally happen in threes.

Pushing back from the gate the flight attendant noticed someone hunched over talking on their cell phone as if no one would notice. I could tell the flight attendant was having a problem because she made the announcement to "turn off all cellular phones and electronic devices" numerous times. Again she poked her head in the flight deck and said we have a lady who is still talking on the phone. I said ok let me see if I can fix this.

I then proceeded to make an announcement to the passengers again reviewing the flight time and weather and then stating that we will be departing the gate once everyone has turned their cell phones off". With some confidence I look at the first officer and said "wait for it".

The flight attendant then came up front with a smile on her face and said "that was great! After I made the announcement everyone turned to look at the lady speaking on her cell phone. The ladies face then turned red and she quickly turned it off." Another minor crisis averted and we haven't even taken off.

Why Airlines Have Flight Attendants

I am amazed at how some flight attendants can take a bad and sometimes volatile situation and diffuse it with ease. I many times find myself saying, I'm sure glad we have a flight attendant on board because they did a much better job than I could have ever done dealing with that passenger.

These situations remind me why we have flight attendants on board. First and foremost the flight attendant is on the aircraft for your safety. There is a reason the FAA mandates we have on board the aircraft a flight attendant for each fifty passengers. In the rare occasion that we have an emergency, the flight attendant will be the first to help and give directions in exiting the aircraft. More commonly there might be a problem with the health and wellbeing of a passenger.

If you have a life threatening medical condition the first person helping you and getting you further medical attention is the flight attendant. One of the first things the flight attendant will do after helping you is inform the captain of the situation. The pilots will communicate with air traffic control and with the airlines operations to speak with the physician on call.

So next time you see a flight attendant helping a sick passenger you should help by keeping the isle clear and allowing those on board who may happen to be physicians or paramedics to get to the passenger.

I remember one day while flying hearing a loud thud thinking something fell from the overhead to the floor. It turns out a lady had passed out on her way to the lavatory.

The flight attendant was able to find a doctor, get her some orange juice, and revive her before she even called us in the flight deck. She said the passenger was fine and that she would fill out the report when we landed. Crisis averted before I even knew about it!

The Instructions Are For Your Safety

I am a passenger on the airlines almost every week since I live in a city over a thousand miles from work. I normally travel in my uniform and have noticed the most common question asked by passengers sitting next to me concerns what the flight attendant is telling us to do before we depart the gate.

On one of my commutes home the passenger next to me leaned over and said "do you mind if I ask you a question". "Of course not" I said. He then asks with a smirk on his face "Do we really have to put our tray tables up and seat backs in the upright position for safety?". I said "yes, because it makes it easier to evacuate the airplane if necessary". He then looked at me with a more serious tone and said "oh, I see."

Again, most of what we do is for your safety. For example most would argue that turning off cellular phones and electronic devices are not necessary because they read that they really don't interfere with the electronics on the airplane. I know first hand that cell phones do at times interfere with our communications. As far as other electronic devices, until we have a definitive answer as to whether they interfere or not with the airplanes electronics, we will still have to turn them off. Personally, I would love to keep my electronic reading device on during taxi and take off but until they say otherwise I'll have to turn it off.

Service With A Smile : How Treating the Flight Attendants With Respect Can Make Your Flight More Enjoyable.

A Flight Attendant is an important job at the airline because they are ambassadors for the airlines they work for and are the person you will be in contact with most during the flight. They must relate all the safety information but they also must be service oriented.

During the flight the attendants normally call us on the flight deck to check on us. I can normally tell if they are having a rough time with the passengers in the cabin. If they sound flustered I usually ask "so is everyone behaving in the back". Then the truth comes out.

"The person in 12C is being rude". My answer always is "do you need assistance or do we need to call someone on the ground to help out?" Normally the flight attendant says "oh no they are just being rude. But I tell you I'm just doing a minimal service so I don't have to deal with that person".

It should go without saying that if you are rude or disrespectful to the flight attendant then you should expect a reciprocal level of service. But in most cases the person gets more frustrated because they notice they are not being checked on as often.

How Disruptive Behavior Affects The Safety Of Flight

Being rude and being disruptive are two different things. When someone is rude they normally hurt themselves but when a person is disruptive enough to warrant a call to the flight deck then this becomes a safety issue.

A passenger’s disruptive behavior or non compliance with the flight crew members instructions becomes a safety issue when it distracts the pilots from the task of flying the plane. There are two people in the flight deck for many reasons but primarily to ensure one pilot is always concentrating on flying the plane. The other pilot, known as the pilot monitoring or the non flying pilot, is working the radios and any other situations that might occur such as mechanical abnormalities, emergencies, and passenger disturbances.

While the Captain is communicating with the flight attendant and trying to assess the situation, the task of both flying the plane and monitoring the frequencies might then be placed upon the First Officer. This then gives the Captain time to communicate with the dispatcher, air traffic control, and decide if the disturbance warrants an emergency or a diversion from the original plan.

Passenger Disturbance

While flying to Asheville, North Carolina we were informed there had been an accident at the airport and they must clear the runway before we could land. Since it was going to take them a long time to clear the runway and we did not have enough fuel to hold we decided to go to Knoxville, Tennessee. On the way to Knoxville we had a failure of one of the airspeed indicators so we began working that problem.

As we approached Knoxville the flight attendant called us and said she had a passenger that was not willing to sit down during landing. I asked if he posed a threat and she said she didn’t think so because he said he had to stand because he was in pain due to a recent injury.

I then asked where the passenger was standing and she said next to the flight deck door. This was not good especially since security on airplanes is a much higher priority these days. I then asked if she could some how get him to sit down or at least move away from the flight deck. In the mean time we where beginning to run low on fuel and we had to land soon.

I then asked the controller if we could go directly towards the runway since we had a passenger that would not sit down and was near the flight deck door and additionally we where beginning to get low on fuel. The fuel was not so low that it could be an emergency but we didn’t want any delays getting to the airport. The controller declared us an emergency because of the passenger in the back refusing to sit down.

After we landed and taxied to the gate law enforcement was waiting for us. After the law enforcement officers boarded I looked at the first officer and said, "you know that was a pretty dangerous situation." We had many distractions, the mechanical issue, the low fuel situation, and then we had to deal with a passenger disturbance.

You never know what we might be doing in the flight deck at the time we must deal with a passenger disturbance. We may be trying to navigate around large thunderstorms or we might be working a mechanical issue, or simply trying to get a short cut to get to the airport sooner.

As you can see a passenger being unruly to the point where the pilots now must work on the disturbance can be a distraction from flying the plane and thus affects safety. A unruly passenger at the gate is very easy to deal with and has fewer implications towards the safety of flight compared to flying through the air at five hundred miles per hour.

Conclusion

Remember this during your next flight. It is true that the airlines have taken away much of your comfort items such as blankets and pillows. They have even started charging you for those items plus food and the extra bags you are carrying. We as flight crew members feel your pain because we also travel as passengers on our own airplanes.

Try to remember that we can’t do much about how the airlines are run. If you feel it necessary to take out your frustration on the flight attendant try to remember they are there for your comfort and your safety. When you make their life miserable you wind up making it miserable for yourself and those around you. If it gets to the point the pilot’s attention must be diverted to dealing with your bad behavior you take my attention away from flying thus increasing the level of safety you and the other passengers expect.

Flight attendants have been tasked with keeping you safe and comfortable during the flight. Most do a wonderful job of defusing problems you or the passengers around you are having, whether it be the wrong seat or being treated poorly by someone during their airport experience. I applaud those flight attendants that can turn a bad situation around and even have passengers laughing and singing their praise as they get off the flight.

My suggestion is that you try and leave what happened to you in the terminal behind and realize you finally are on your plane and are going to your destination. It might even help if you smile and say please and thank you. You might find you are getting an extra level of service you didn’t expect.

Welcome aboard. Sit back, relax, enjoy the flight, and let us provide you with the highest level of service and safety you deserve.

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I'll never forget training to become a flight instructor, not only because it is one of the toughest pilot certificates to achieve but also because of an interesting incident that happened during my training. While taxiing during a windy day I had the flight controls placed in the correct position to counteract the affects of the wind. The instructor turned to me and said you don't need to do that because you are going to become an airline pilot some day and taxiing with your flight controls in the proper position won’t matter.

Having never flown airliners I began to wonder if the theories of aerodynamics did not apply to larger planes. Furthermore, we were not flying a large plane and to prevent the strong winds from picking up one of my wings I needed to place my flight controls properly. My instructor’s attitude and disregard of basic airmanship spoke volumes about how some are training our future airline pilots and why some are having problems with training and flying the line.

Years later while training at an airline some of the pilots were having issues with the basic skills of flying such as straight and level, climbs, descents and turns. I could not believe what I was experiencing because most of the people I thought had come from a general aviation background and should have been able to control the aircraft using basic instrument skills.

What I realized is that while I had been flying aircraft with no automation and little or no advanced electronics, some of my contemporaries where flying highly automated and technically advanced aircraft. Some even joked that they had never seen the old "steam" gages, those that are gyroscopically driven, and would not know what to do if they were forced to fly them.

This is where a problem exists in both our training and our training environment. Pilots are only exposed to automation and electronic flight instruments and are now asked to fly an airliner that does not have electronic instruments or uses old vacuum gages as the backup to the electronic instruments.

When the electronics instruments fails

For example, most of the jets I fly have electronic attitude indicators that tell the position of the aircraft relative to the horizon. If the electronic flight information system fails I have an extra on the right side of the plane. If the second system fails then there is a standby attitude indicator in the center of the cockpit so that both pilots can see them.

The standby instruments are either electronic or the old "steam gages". If you don't have experience using the older equipment you may not be able to control the aircraft properly. This came to light recently when my friend was flying with a Captain at an airline that had traditional standby equipment.

During the flight both electronic attitude and heading reference systems failed on the Captain’s and the First Officer’s, or co pilot’s side. Since the Captain was not comfortable using the older airspeed indicator on the standby instruments he relied on the GPS to determine the approximate airspeed. Unfortunately, this is not an accurate indication of the airspeed and the pilot must make calculations using the current windspeed and direction and then subtracting or adding your ground speed.

If the Captain had been comfortable using the standby attitude indicator in the aircraft then he could have simply read the airspeed off the standby airspeed indicator and slowed the aircraft down. After landing, the aircraft had to go through a mechanical inspection to determine if the aircraft structures such as the flaps had succumbed to an over stressed condition due to over speeding the aircraft. Again this could have been determined by simply looking at the airspeed indicator.

In some situations such as the Air France 447, all airspeed indications became inaccurate. This is a difficult situation but with practice pilots can learn how to control the airplane without any airspeed indications.

All pilots should have experienced loss of airspeed indications during their initial training . Unfortunately, it could be many years since practicing a loss of all airspeed indications. Next time you are in the simulator or with an instructor ask them if you could practice a loss of all airspeed indications. This should be practiced at all altitudes and airspeeds to avoid both a low speed and an over speed situation. If you fly often this exercise may not take very long since most pilots already know the pitch and power settings that will give them the performance they desire in the aircraft.

When the autopilot fails.

I like automation because it increases our situational awareness, decreases pilot work load, and decreases fatigue by giving the automation the ability to control the aircraft. But even if the auto flight system is controlling the aircraft, the pilot is still flying the aircraft. The pilot must always monitor the systems to determine if they are working properly and are producing the outcomes desired.

When the automation fails we must be able to control the aircraft manually using our flying skills. It is easy to identify those pilots who rely heavily on the auto pilot. When they turn it on they become much more relaxed. Over the last decade airplanes with sophisticated automation include both small and large airplanes. Therefore, you are seeing pilots rely on automation in all levels of flying from private pilots to airline pilots.

You Will Fly Based On How You Train.

We can prevent many accidents by the way we train and how we fly. The ability to control the aircraft properly affects all levels of flying. The airlines are affected as is demonstrated in the Colgan crash in Buffalo, New York. Accidents statistics also point to a high rate of accidents amongst smaller planes due to the pilot’s inability to control the plane during landing or in the clouds.

So how do you prevent yourself from getting into this undesirable situation when trying to control the airplane either manually or using conventional instruments? The answer is both training and practice. I know the government is trying to intervene and attempt to mandate new pilot standards and training standards to reduce the number of accidents, but we as pilots must act based on real world scenarios and not a bureaucrat’s perception of a problem.

The problem with training is more a quality issue than a quantity issue which is why it is important to receive quality training. I feel many of our problems in the aviation industry stem more from a lack of professionalism than from a lack of training. A professional pilot whether flying their own personal aircraft or with many passengers on board must constantly evaluate their level of flying skills. If you feel one of your skills is lacking or is weak you must practice to bring your skills back to a proficient level and ask for additional training if needed.

Pilot instructors must also demand a high level of professionalism and proficiency from their students. Instructors must evaluate the pilot based on their level of skill and not on their personality. Some pilots with inadequate flying skills are pushed through training because they were well liked by the instructor. My feeling is if you truly liked the pilot you would do everything you can to help them become a better pilot for both their safety and the safety of others.

As we have all heard, practice makes perfect. If you are uncomfortable flying with the autopilot off then maybe you should start turning it off and hand flying. If you are at the point that you are having difficulty flying the plane without the autopilot it is up to you to ask for additional training. I'm sure your instructor would admire your level of professionalism and respect your honesty in your self evaluation.

If you fly for an airline, charter, or corporate flight department and wish to get additional training ask a more experienced pilot to assist you in increasing your proficiency. I know many pilots would be hard pressed in doing this for fear of losing their job. If you are in an environment where you have a union, go to them and ask them how to approach the situation. If you have time during your next recurrent training ask the instructor to review something you are not comfortable with. And as a last resort you may want to take the time and money to get additional training on your own.

Conclusion:

Airplanes both large and small have become technically advanced and highly automated. Although this contributes to safety by increasing our situational awareness, and reducing fatigue, it has lead to a degradation in our basic flying skills. These flying skills assist us when the automation or the advanced electronics fails because this is when we must rely on our basic flying skills.

We need to both train and practice flying without the automation and using more conventional instrumentation if installed in the aircraft. This can be done both in changes to training and in pilots taking the initiative of flying without the automation.

So next time your electronic equipment fails and the automation is not available you can do what I did during a flight where this happened to me; fly the airplane! If you are feeling weak in any area of flying then ask an instructor or more experienced pilot for some help in making you a more proficient pilot. This has helped me tremendously in the past.

Safe Flying!

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I know what you are thinking. What does flying and root canals have anything to do with each other. The other day I discovered they had more in common than I realized.

It was the first day of the annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I have always wanted to attend AirVenture and thought I would make it this year, but instead of looking at airplanes I had a root canal. I love air shows because I always increase my knowledge of flying and aviation, but to my amazement I learned about flying in the endodontist’s chair.

It is always a humbling experience when learning new insights about our own avocation from someone who knows nothing about flying but much about professionalism. The endodontist knew I was nervous about having a root canal and as I listened and watched her during the procedure I was amazed at how well she could relate her experience with patients with my flying passengers.

One of the negative effects of being a pilot for a long time is that we learn to be skeptical to a fault because we are concerned about our safety. As pilots we must trust those that keep us in the air but also must verify what the mechanics have done to our airplane or weather briefers have told us about our flight.

How To Instill Trust

As I sat in the chair waiting for the Novocain to begin working the dentist made a very poignant statement. She said that as an airline captain I must normally feel like I am in control but in this situation I am not. She then went on to tell me how she felt a little nervous when she was flying once but then said to herself that she must trust in the fact that the people up front flying the plane know what their doing and that she would have to trust in their ability to fly her to their destination safely.

I said to myself "Wow, this lady sure has a great bedside manner. I wonder what I could learn from this professional and relate it to how I treat my passengers and students." I then began to focus my attention more on her actions than the procedure she was performing.

Whether we are taking passengers flying or students up for their first lesson we must gain and maintain the trust of the student or the passenger. Integrity and a high level of professionalism is very important.

The first step in instilling trust is relating to the student or passenger before the flight our qualifications and experience. When I walked into the doctors office I noticed all the plaques she had on the wall. The wall full of graduation certificates and other professional qualifications was a good indication this person has the qualifications to work on my teeth.

As an airline pilot it is assumed that I have the qualifications to fly because I'm the one wearing the Captains uniform, but when I am at the airport flying my friends in my airplane or while instructing I can show my qualifications in other ways. I visit flight schools and fixed based operators all over the country. I also visit friends homes and hangars at various airports.

Many flight schools display the qualifications and any special awards or accomplishments on the walls and in the offices. If you are an instructor and have achieved the Master designation then display that in the lobby or your office.

If you are a pilot who takes up passengers on a regular basis, then display all your accomplishments on your wall at home or in the office. If you are involved in the FAA wings program, print and display your wings certificate. If you have accomplished any training display these also. You never know who your next passenger might be and displaying your flying certificates and accomplishments might instill more trust in your skills.

Dress For Success

As the doctor came into the room she had a mask below her chin and scrubs as if getting ready for a medical procedure. This put me at ease because in my mind this is how a doctor should dress and fit my preconceived notion of what she should look like.

It is amazing how important it is to present a professional image to the public and how we psychologically judge people based on what they are wearing. I remember an airline that experimented with allowing their pilots to wear polo shirts and slacks. But the majority of the passengers did not like it very much and began questioning whether they were real pilots.

The uniforms we wear as pilots are more for our passengers than for us. As a pilot taking someone for a ride in an airplane for the first time, I find you can instill trust and your level of professionalism if you arrive neat and clean. Of course what you are wearing doesn't make you a better pilot but it does put your passengers at ease because they will relate your appearance and professional attitude to the way you are going to fly the airplane.

Words Have Consequences

During a follow up procedure with the dentist and before she started she said "I should be ok, and not feel any pain." Maybe she noticed I was paying attention to everything she was saying because she then immediately said that she must be careful of what she says because people might interpret this statement differently. Boy was she right.

One day while preparing for a flight I didn't notice a passenger hearing me talking to our dispatch and what I said really made the person nervous. All the passenger heard me say was "I don't think we are going to make it there". What the passenger didn't realize is that I was looking for another alternate because the one chosen by the dispatcher was forecast to be worse than expected. So I had to explain this to the passengers and as my bad luck would have it we had to divert.

Unfortunately in the back of the passenger’s mind, she still remembered what I said to the dispatcher and when I saw her later she said "I guess you where right about us not making it". She then went on to tell me she was teasing but what if someone had heard what I said without the explanation.

Words are very important when we are briefing passengers. It is very important to brief the passengers on the emergency equipment and how to exit the aircraft but we must be careful how we brief our passengers. I nearly jumped out of my skin one day when I heard a friend briefing his passengers. He started off by saying "In case we crash you should open the door....." The word "crash" should never be used around an airport let alone a briefing.

There are some great words as substitutes to get your point across without terrifying your passengers. One example is to use the word "bumps" instead of "turbulence". And for those doing a safety briefing concerning exits the best way to start the briefing is "in the unlikely event of an off airport landing, the exits work this way...."

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

As the dentist proceeded with the procedure she would tell me when I might feel something or hear a noise that was foreign to me. Then when I heard the noise I was not scared by the sudden change in my environment. When we take someone flying for the first time or if we are teaching stalls I have found it is a good idea to talk through the whole maneuver in a very calming voice telling them what is about to happen.

During a passenger’s first flight let them know you are about to turn and that you will be slowly lowering the wing because this is how a plane turns. When you begin the turn do it slowly and with as little bank as necessary. After a while of informing your passenger what you are doing and then actually doing it you will gain the trust of your student or passenger.

With some of the planes I fly, the stall horns are loud and it scares the passengers when it comes on especially during landing. Right before we land I will let my passengers know that they will hear a horn right before we touch down and that this is normal. When it goes off they see there is no reaction from me and that this must be the normal horn I was talking about.

Know Your Planes Noises

Before your next flight think about all the unique sounds your plane makes and make a list. Next try to explain each of these noises as if you where talking to someone flying for their first time. I’m sure passengers will appreciate your placing them at ease.

Post Flight

After my root canal was finished I said to myself that wasn't bad at all. Heck I have had gas pains worse than that experience. Before I left the office the endodontist then explained what had happened during the procedure, what I might experience as far as any discomfort, and what medicines I must take before my next visit.

As a pilot flying someone for their first flight or a flight instructor finishing a lesson it is important to include a post flight conversation. For the person who has flown the first time just ask them if they have any questions or comments about their experience. It is important to make them feel comfortable about asking you questions and that you will not ridicule them no matter how simplistic they feel the question is. Just like the dentist giving me simple instructions after my procedure we cannot assume that everyone even remotely knows even the basics of flying and they should feel free to ask.

As an instructor this is one of the most important parts of the lesson since the student will have the lesson fresh in their mind. Also, when you give them an assignment for the next lesson you have a chance to show them the importance of homework and how it relates to this lesson and the next.

Conclusion

Although I missed Oshkosh because I had to get a root canal, I was able to get a lesson on flying and professionalism from a unsuspecting source, my endodontist. It is humbling to learn from someone who is not even associated with your industry but has valuable insights. There are always opportunities to learn in life especially from professionals in other industries. What can you learn from people you respect in other industries and how can you apply their level of professionalism to your flying?

Safe Flying!

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