Quick Reminders for Pilots During an Emergency in Flight
The
sun was settling behind Maryland’s rolling hills when I started my
walk around on the rented Cessna 172. Although feeling the stress
that comes with being behind schedule, I pushed down the desire to
rush through the necessary preflight checks. My plans to grab ‘the
hundred dollar hamburger’ somewhere with a view could wait, but I
lifted off into the night sky by the light of a quarter moon.

At
2800 feet, just outside of the Frederick municipal, I switched to
Potomac approach and received clearance through Baltimore’s class
B. I let out a victory yelp, and thought, I’ll be on the beach in
an hour! Only moments later the “low voltage light” clicked on. My
stomach dropped, and for an instant, I froze running the situation in
my head. My thoughts spiraled, why is the low voltage light on? It
could be a light malfunction or bad wire. What if the alternator
failed? I’m running on battery and don’t know how much time is
left.
In a moment more I recognized the severity of the situation. I
was in night flight, completely dependent on the electrically powered
avionics for navigation, communication, and visibility.
Without
further hesitation, I began a turn back to Frederick and keyed the
mic. “Potomac approach, Skyhawk is returning to Frederick, I have a
low voltage indication.” The controller approved my deviation from
the cleared flight path and asked if I needed assistance. With a lack
of confidence, I said no, and whispered a quiet prayer that I had
enough juice to get on the ground without incident.
Now,
writing this piece about what could have been a real emergency, I can
clearly see the potentially hazardous errors I made in those first
moments. The immediate effects of stress experienced in these
moments, started affecting my judgment before I recognized it.
If
I had responded according to my training, for example, my first
action would have been setting the best airspeed (best glide or the
upper limit as appropriate). Then I would have turned to the closest
airfield rather than the one I departed from. Finally, I would have
communicated and dug into troubleshooting the issue. I got my ABCs
out of order, and all for an indicator light.
Stress
makes thinking through even the smallest of tasks challenging, and
every aviator knows the necessary movements of flight is in itself a
challenge. As I approached Frederick Municipal I was in a cold sweat,
searching with growing anxiety for lights which would indicate I had
a runway ahead. The very real fear of losing the little light I had
and the ability to communicate was weighing heavy on my conscious. My
situational awareness was narrowed and the traffic alerts that
continued to be provided by the Potomac approach added more strain on my
thoughts.
Not to spoil the story, I did safely land back
at the airport shaken but without the loss of any critical electrical
items. The big lesson in this situation was something I’d learned
long ago but become complacent with over years of easy and uneventful
flights. Practice not only makes perfect, practice until you respond
from muscle memory has saved many pilot’s life.

This concept is taught to military aviators with such passion and urgency
that every pilot graduates from initial training capable of
immediately listing every critical action item (boldface) of every
checklist for any aircraft they have had the privilege of flying.
While
this depth of training has evaded most general aviation pilots, who
do not have the same advantage of focusing on flying as their only
job, we can share in the lesson. Just a few minutes before each
flight visualizing yourself taking the actions needed in an emergency
can be the difference in a smooth landing or expensive repair.
Or,
to take technique out of the Air Force’s training, before you begin
to consider possible causes, to troubleshoot, or even step to your
aircraft to preflight think through this mantra:
“I
will maintain aircraft control, analyze the situation, take
appropriate action, and land as soon as conditions permit.” If you
follow this one checklist, you will always do the immediate right
thing.
- Maintain Aircraft Control:Pitch to best glide, recover from and unusual attitude, or whatever the situation may be, fly the airplane first and preferably toward the best and nearest landing site.

-
Analyze the Situation:Only after you have stabled your aircraft do you begin working your way through the problem. Did the primer come out? Is fuel or oxygen being deprived of the engine for any reason? What is the cause of the trouble? Have you gone through all that you're supposed to do in your checklist? AeroChecklist is an app that gives you instant access to a selection of checklists, designed for your safety, especially for emergency situations.

-
Take proper action:Sometimes the best option is minimizing damage. Recently a friend shared a video of an aircraft landing gear up (the cause of a terrible malfunction). I was awed by the skill of the individual that spared worse damage to his aircraft achieving as perfect of a landing I’d ever seen, gear or no gear. No matter the action, use your resources and time as available to find the best one.
-
Land!Similar to the ABCs (Airspeed, Best Landing, Check list) your nearest surface to land should be in your mind in all phases of flight. Making it back to the departing airport, your destination, or an alternate field are all great choices because each of them means flying again another day.
To
read more of Jo Tracker’s blog posts visit www.wingedflyin.com, or
to watch her comedy stylings paired with her flare for flying all of
the United States visit www.youtube.com/c/jotracker
Are you an Air Navigation Pro user? What are the best things you like about ANP? Let us know in the comments below!
Do you have a cool Air Navigation Pro story you want to share? Send us a message in one of our social media accounts Facebook, Instagram or send us an e-mail at demi@airnavigation.aero.
to discover more about the Flight planning application Air Navigation Pro iOS,
you can also visit our website at
and check the manual for additional details on how to use the new features.
The Air Navigation Team
A helpful article about security. I hope travel bloggers would post more articles about this topic. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThx Tony :)
Delete