FAA Safety Briefing — March/April 2013

FAA Safety

March/April 2013

Brie F ing

Your source for general aviation news and information

Safety Standdown

Building a Safety Community How to Avoid Get-home-itis, p. 9 Sprout New WINGS, p. 14 Why Smart People Do Dumb Things, p.21 faa.gov/news/safety_briefing Federal Aviation @FAASafetyBrief Administration

T he March/April 2013 issue of FAA Safety Briefing th focuses on the themes of the 4 Annual FAA Safety Standdown: building a safety community, human error, and loss of control — the leading causal factor in general aviation accidents. Articles explore each of these critical areas and provide important insight, tips and resources for improving GA safety.

Cover photo by Tom Hoffmann FAA Safety Briefing is the FAA safety policy voice of non-commercial general aviation.

Features

5 Finding Fixes for the Flyers The Evolution of Error Management by Susan Parson 7 Sun ’n Fun FAA Seminar Schedule 9 How to Avoid Get-Home-Itis The Keys to Treating an “Airborne” Disease by Sabrina Woods 14 Sprout New WINGS Revamped Proficiency Program Gets to the Core of GA Safety by Bryan Neville 18 Setting Priorities Aviate, Navigate, Communicate – And Evaluate Risk by James Williams 21 Why Smart People Do Dumb Things The Art of Managing Mistakes by Guy Minor

Departments

1 Jumpseat – an executive policy perspective 2 ATIS – GA news and current events 6 Aeromedical Advisory – a checkup on all things aeromedical 8 Ask Medical Certification – Q&A on medical certification issues 24 Checklist – FAA resources and safety reminders 25 Nuts, Bolts, and Electrons – GA maintenance issues 28 Angle of Attack – GA safety strategies 30 Vertically Speaking – safety issues for rotorcraft pilots 31 Flight Forum – letters from the Safety Briefing mailbag 32 Postflight – an editor’s perspective Inside back cover FAA Faces – FAA employee profile

John A l l e n

Direc tor, F l igh t S ta n D a r DS Se r v ice Jumpseat

Community: Springboard to Success

Several times each week, the head of the FAA’s sponsoring a challenge to find creative new ideas to Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention pro- reduce the fatal GA accident rate. And we are bol- vides the agency’s senior leadership with an update stering the role of the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) on the latest general aviation (GA) fatal accident sta- in this critical work.

tistics. It’s not a pretty picture. On the contrary, I’m The idea of community as a means of providing very sorry to say it’s a rare day when he reports “no support, encouragement, and safety accountability new GA fatals,” which is of course the message we all led to the selection of the “Building a Safety Com- hope to hear. munity” theme for this year’s FAASTeam Safety Even more frustrating is that we get a lot of infor- Standdown (SSD). The core concept is that the mation about WHAT happened. As the investigations pilot community can provide accountability that proceed, we periodically get information about HOW enhances safety. If you know that your fellow flyers it happened. But it is rare to get solid information on — people whose opinions and respect you value WHY it happened. And, in my view, we need a better — would not approve of a course of action you’re sense of both HOW and WHY in order to reduce the considering, you may be less likely to proceed. At the GA fatal accident rate. least, the idea of pilot community disapproval might As you know from articles this magazine has make you stop, think, and revise your decision.

published over the past year or two in the Angle of We will formally launch this year’s SSD at the Attack department, FAA staff working in support annual Sun ‘n Fun fly-in in Lakeland, Fla., but FAAS- of the government/industry General Aviation Joint Team program man- Steering Committee (GAJSC) have been combing agers will organize A pilot safety community can also provide through GA accident reports in search of actionable and lead local SSD accountability. If you know that your fellow information on the HOW and WHY factors. Their events throughout the flyers — people whose opinions and respect task includes looking for patterns and for systemic country. The plan is issues that we can address through non-regulatory to bring pilots, airport you value — would not approve of a course measures in cooperation with the GA community. officials, aviation of action you’re considering, you may be less business people, and likely to proceed.

Safety Community FAASTeam members Community is an important concept in this together to share ideas, tips, and best practices, as endeavor. Whether you are an introvert or an well as to foster forming the personal relationships extravert, being human means being part of a com- that create a true safety community.

munity. More accurately, it means being part of To focus the SSD sessions, the FAASTeam has many communities, groups that we join or build in developed a three-part program. Each SSD event accordance with our specific needs, interests, and will start with a presentation and discussion tailored aspirations. Communities can play a vital role in our to the specific area’s GA issues and concerns. The individual, as well as collective, success.

next presentation focuses on avoiding human error, That is certainly true in aviation. To my mind, including an introduction to the “wired-in” factors the aviation community includes aviation advocacy that can lead to human error and the use of safety organizations, training providers, and pilot groups — risk management to mitigate those factors. Loss of including type clubs. We have actively engaged with control — still a big killer in GA — is the subject of these groups on non-regulatory GA accident reduc- the third session.

tion initiatives.

I urge you to keep a lookout for information on It also includes “flight-minded” people in the SSD scheduling in your area, and to put “safety com- FAA. I have frequent brainstorming discussions munity” on your calendar for that day. Your commu- on GA safety with my senior staff, which includes nity needs your participation and your support.

several GA enthusiasts. Through the FAA’s IdeaHub, which allows employees to comment on and sup- port ideas submitted by other employees, we are March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 1

Av i A t ion n e ws roundup ATIS

And now, understanding the Mechanic and Repairman Certificate important value of these Redesigned clubs just got a lot easier In January 2013, the FAA’s Civil Aviation Registry thanks to the newly began issuing mechanic and repairman certificates formed Type Club that honor aviation pioneer Charles Taylor, the first Coalition (TCC).

aviation mechanic in powered flight. Taylor designed According to its and built the first aircraft engine used by the Wright website, hosted by the brothers and contributed to many other early Wright Experimental Aircraft engines and airplanes.

Association — http://eaa.org/govt/tcc.asp — the Since 2003, all airman certificates have been mission of the TCC is to “leverage the knowledge made of composite plastic — incorporating security and resources of the coalition to better prepare GA and tamper resistant features. They include back- pilots for flight risks associated with known acci- ground images of the Wright Brothers, the 1902 dent ‘hot spots.’” The website currently lists 20 type Wright glider, and a Boeing jet aircraft.

clubs that have joined the TCC, many of which have The FAA requires all mechanics and repairman already worked hard to develop training programs still holding paper certificates to exchange them for and best practice guides to improve safety for their the new plastic ones no later than March 31, 2013.

members. The TCC will only enhance this process, The best way to get a replacement certificate is to allowing a variety of experts to come together and follow the instructions at http://go.usa.gov/49Nj.

further develop these resources.

The replacement cost is $2, unless you still have your “If the community can work together to elimi- Social Security Number on your certificate and you nate the common mistakes of aircraft operation, ask to have it removed.

type-specific or otherwise, the overall safety of GA will increase substantially,” the site stated. For more information, or if you or your organization is inter- ested in joining the TCC, contact TCC chairman Tom Turner at asf@bonanza.org.

FAA Stresses Importance of Manual Flying Skills In a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) issued on January 4, 2013, the FAA urged pilots that a “continu- ous use of autoflight systems could lead to degra- dation of the pilot’s ability to quickly recover the aircraft from an undesired state.” The SAFO was issued based on the recent analysis of flight operations data (including normal flight operations, incidents, and accidents), which A sample of the new AMT certificate identified an increase in manual handling errors.

The FAA believes maintaining and improving the Type Club Coalition Launches Website knowledge and skills for manual flight operations is Whether you fly a warbird or a homebuilt, or necessary for safe flight operations and opportuni- something in between, chances are there’s a type ties to exercise these skills should be encouraged club out there that can help you become more in when appropriate.

tune with your aircraft. Type clubs generally func- “Although the Safety Alert targets air carrier tion as a safety and informational support network operations, the topic of manual flight operations also to keep members abreast of best practices as well has great relevance for the general aviation com- as any changes or news regarding their aircraft.

munity,” said Robert Burke, Aviation Safety Inspector 2 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 with FAA’s Air Carrier Training Branch. “An over- reliance on automated cockpit technology for GA pilots can have equally detrimental effects on flight safety. During a flight, pilots should always be seek- ing appropriate opportunities to maintain their ‘stick and rudder’ skills.” Xarelto Allowed for Aeromedical Use In December 2012, the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine declared that the anticoagulant drug rivar- oxaban (Xarelto) is allowed for use in aviation.

Xarelto is a prescription medicine that helps reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation, and is used to treat and prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

In addition to the condition being treated by Xarelto remaining stable, you must also have been on the drug for at least two weeks before submitting any medical records to the FAA for consideration.

Because of the condition and the use of Xarelto, the FAA will certify pilots under special issuance autho- rizations with periodic status reports.

Screenshot from a WAAS LPV performance video For more on how the FAA evaluates drugs for aeromedical use, see the article “From FDA to FAA” WAAS Performance on Display in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of FAA Safety Briefing.

Since 1999, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Test Team at the FAA’s William J.

Data Request Under Pilot’s Bill of Rights Hughes Technical Center has reported quarterly Under the new Pilot’s Bill of Rights, an indi- on the performance of both the GPS and WAAS vidual who is the subject of an investigation related systems. In addition to those reports, the WAAS Test to the approval, denial, suspension, modification, Team also maintains a website with a wide selec- or revocation of an airman certificate may request tion of real-time performance monitoring tools at certain air traffic data from the FAA related to his or nstb.tc.faa.gov.

her case. While much of this data can be copied in a The real-time WAAS performance plots are cre- format that can be sent and reviewed by the airman ated every three minutes and all real-time plot pages requesting it (e.g., executable files, CDs, paper, update every two minutes. The interactive WAAS per- or other media), there may be instances when formance display applications are available with both requested data may only be meaningfully obtained a 2-D and 3-D display, the latter of which requires when viewed on FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Google Earth to view. With the tool, users can toggle equipment. For example, if the airman wants to see on or off airport and satellite locations, as well as cov- more of a certain radar recording being replayed erage areas for different approach categories.

— such as at a slower speed, or looking only at the Performance videos are available on the page subject aircraft versus all aircraft — then that data and show animated performance data for the previ- needs to be played at the FAA facility or at a facility ous 24-hour period. There are also links to perfor- with the appropriate replay program.

mance analysis reports which contain the most For those cases where air traffic data cannot be detailed analyses of GPS and WAAS performance.

meaningfully reviewed without the use of govern- ment equipment, the Flight Standards District Office Sun ’n Fun 2013 (FSDO) should arrange with the airman and appro- Are you ready for some aviation excitement?

priate ATO personnel to facilitate a review of the Then this year’s Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In and data on ATO equipment. For more information, go to Expo will help you shake off the winter cobwebs and www.faa.gov/pilots/rights.

March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 3 U.S. Department of t ransportation The FAASTeam National Resource Center in Federal Aviation Lakeland, Fla., is also the home to the FAA’s Administration Sun ‘n Fun safety seminars.

ISSN: 1057-9648 FAA Safety Briefing March/April 2013 Volume 52/Number 2 Raymond H. LaHood Secretary of Transportation Michael Huerta Administrator Margaret Gilligan Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety John M. Allen Director, Flight Standards Service James Viola Acting Manager, General Aviation and Commercial Division Susan Parson Editor Tom Hoffmann Managing Editor James R. Williams Associate Editor / Photo Editor Sabrina Woods Assistant Editor Paul Cianciolo Assistant Editor Will Daniel Mudd Simmons Assistant Copy Editor John Mitrione Art Director Published six times a year, FAA Safety Briefing, formerly FAA Aviation News, promotes aviation safety by discussing current technical, regulatory, and procedural aspects affecting the safe operation and maintenance of aircraft.

Although based on current FAA policy and rule interpretations, all material is advisory or informational in nature and should not be construed to have regulatory effect. Certain details of accidents described herein may have been altered to protect the privacy of those involved.

The FAA does not officially endorse any goods, services, materials, or prod- ucts of manufacturers that may be referred to in an article. All brands, product names, company names, trademarks, and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

The Office of Management and Budget has approved the use of public funds for printing FAA Safety Briefing .

CONTACT INFORMATION The magazine is available on the Internet at: http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/ Comments or questions should be directed to the staff by: get the flying season started in style. Lakeland, Fla., • Emailing: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov is home to the event, which spans April 9 – 14, 2013, and features aerial performances, exhibits, and edu- • Writing: Editor, FAA Safety Briefing , Federal Aviation Administration, cational seminars. The FAA will host four seminars AFS-805, 800 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20591 between 0830 and 1400 each day, which will include • Calling: (202) 385-9600 updates on the WINGS program, the Pilot’s Bill of • Twitter: @FAASafetyBrief Rights, and airmen medical certification. NTSB Board Member Dr. Earl Weener is also scheduled to SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, sells speak on April 13, as well as U.S. Rep. Sam Graves FAA Safety Briefing on subscription and mails up to four renewal notices.

who will host a general aviation town hall discussion.

For New Orders: Subscribe via the Internet at http://bookstore.gpo.gov, tele- For a complete list of FAA-hosted seminars, go to phone (202) 512-1800 or toll-free 1-866-512-1800, or use the self-mailer form in the center of this magazine and send to Superintendent of Documents, U.S.

http://qrs.ly/3o2wzuf or visit www.sun-n-fun.org.

Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9371.

If you’re planning to fly to Sun ’n Fun, don’t Subscription Problems/Change of Address: Send your mailing label with your comments/request to Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government forget to read the 2013 Sun ’n Fun Notice to Airmen Printing Office, Contact Center, Washington, DC 20408-9375. You can also call (NOTAM) available at (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 and ask for Customer Service, or fax your information to (202) 512-2104.

www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/notices.

4 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 S U S A N P A R S O N

inding Fixes for the Flyers

t he e volution of e rror Management

F

here was a time when major aircraft accidents ment to crew resource management, and the pro- were, unfortunately, much more common than grams evolved from a focus on management to one T they are today. Investigators and regulators on team concepts and overall situational awareness.

tended toward an approach that some call “find, fix, Third Generation and fly:” find the cause (often a mechanical failure), The nature and scope of CRM continued to fix the problem (improve the machinery), and fly expand in the 1990s, with a new focus on the influ- the airplane (resume normal operations). The cycle ence of organizational culture and human factors, would start anew with the next accident.

including those arising from the increasing use of With continuously improving technology, the automation. Air carriers also began to develop CRM number of accidents attributed primarily to mechan- programs for check airmen, training personnel, ical failure decreased over the years. Having thus maintenance workers, and dispatchers.

plucked the proverbial low-hanging fruit, investiga- tors, regulators, and researchers turned their atten- tion to finding fixes for the flyers — in other words, to reducing human error as a primary or contributing cause to aviation accidents and incidents.

In a paper called The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation , University of Texas at Austin researchers Robert Helmreich, Ashleigh Merritt, and John Wilhelm trace the evolution of error management efforts through Fourth Generation the five generations summarized below. Though The introduction of the Advanced Qualification error management efforts were initially directed to Program (AQP) in the early 1990s marks another part 121 air carriers, general aviation (GA) operators stage in the evolution of error management. Under — pilots, instructors, mechanics — can clearly learn AQP, a voluntary program, the FAA allows air car- and benefit from these concepts.

riers to develop training programs specific to their individual needs and operations. A condition for First Generation AQP authorization is the requirement to have a CRM Until 1981, when a major part 121 air carrier pio- program that is integrated into technical training. To neered the concept and practice of cockpit resource accomplish this objective, air carriers began to “pro- management (CRM) training, aviation was still ceduralize” CRM by incorporating desired behaviors mired in the “captain-is-god” culture that the fledg- into operational procedures and checklists.

ling aviation industry had adopted from the mores of nineteenth century mariners. Driven in part by NTSB Fifth Generation findings on the dangers of captains’ authoritarian As described in the Helmreich paper, “fifth attitudes and co-pilots’ lack of assertiveness, early generation CRM” marks a shift from the human CRM incorporated training on individual styles, and resource and team management focus back to error effective leadership and management techniques.

management, which was the stimulus for CRM’s ini- tial development. In this iteration, sometimes called Second Generation “Threat and Error Management” (TEM), there is an By the late 1980s, most U.S., and many interna- explicit recognition that, since human error is inevi- tional airlines had adopted and implemented CRM table, the focus must be on managing and mitigating training for flight deck crews. As these programs the impact of those errors we cannot avoid.

gained acceptance as an ongoing component in flight crew training and line operations, airlines began to Susan Parson (susan.parson@faa.gov or @avi8rix for Twitter fans) is editor of recognize the need to include cabin crew members.

F aa Safety Briefing . She is an active general aviation pilot and flight instructor.

The name changed from cockpit resource manage- March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 5 F r e de ric k e . t ilt on, M . d .

F e D e r a l a ir S U rgeon Aeromedical Advisory

If You Haven’t Seen It, It’s New To You!

You’ve probably heard the above marketing The second video I want to talk about is “Risk pitch before, and while true, it does seem to ring a bit Management.” Now, before you roll your eyes, hollow. Two years ago I mentioned our human fac- remember that risk management has become a tors video series in this column. I bring up this and vitally important tool for pilots. Through the his- the aforementioned pitch because our video library tory of aviation we’ve continually improved our is now on FAA TV. All of those videos are now part of safety record by focusing on key aspects. First it the collection at www.faa.gov/tv under the aviation was the machines themselves. Early airplanes were tab and the Airman Education section. Created by notoriously unreliable, and unreliable in more our folks out at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute than just an inconvenient way. They had a ten- (CAMI), these videos provide you with an informa- dency to have catastrophic mechanical failures. By tive, and hopefully interesting, viewing experience the 1950s it was our Air Traffic Control system that on a range of topics. They are all free; all we ask is needed immediate attention. In the 1970s it was that you spread the word. our cockpit culture that needed the help of CRM.

Being part of this new platform allows you to not Risk management is a systematic approach to iden- only view these videos online, but also to share them tifying risk, assessing its probability and severity, with friends and colleagues, and download them to and determining a mitigation strategy.

view later, perhaps at times when you don’t have an As the video points out, this is a particularly dif- active internet connection. ficult task in general aviation because you don’t have a safety or operations department to lean on for an Top Picks independent risk assessment. You also don’t have a I want to highlight a couple of videos that are of dispatcher reviewing weather and preparing a flight specific interest given the topics of this issue. First plan. Instead, the pilot must perform all these roles.

is “The History of CRM.” This video covers some of Please check out these videos and all the others the basic underlying concepts of Crew Resource as well, and let us know what you think. Is there a Management (CRM) and how the theories behind topic we haven’t covered that you’d like to see? Please it were developed. It also addresses what caused its let us know. We’re always looking for feedback.

urgent need by highlighting the critical accidents that helped advance CRM from academic theory in Frederick Tilton, M.D., M.P.H., received both an M.S. and an M.D. degree the 1970s to a way of life in today’s air carrier world.

from the University of New Mexico and an M.P.H. from the University of As the video points out, unfortunately, most of those Texas. During a 26-year career with the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Tilton logged lessons are paid for in blood. Even something as more than 4,000 hours as a command pilot and senior flight surgeon flying a trivial as a light bulb can and has cost human lives.

variety of aircraft. He currently flies the Cessna Citation 560 XL.

But through these losses we’ve developed the system we have today, which, while not perfect, is much better than what we had before.

Get FAA Safety BRIEFING news at your fingertips.

Follow us at ... twitter.com/FAASafetyBrief

or @FAASafetyBrief

6 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 8:30 – 9:30 10:00 – 11:00 11:30 – 12:30 1:00 – 2:00 Safety From an Prevent Aerodynamic Stalls Why Wise Pilots Choose to You? Listen! WINGS Tuesday Cathy Gagne Mike Adams Paul Cox Bryan W. Neville April 9, Report Writer / Analyst FAA Safety Team AVEMCO Insurance Company NTSB NTSB Program Manager Flight Services: The BIG Three Maintenance Related What’s New— An In-depth Analysis Intercepted & Accidents Wednesday What’s Coming! of GA Accidents How to Avoid it. Albert Kimball April 10, Lt Col Kevin “Big Jim” Roethe Jim Derr & Mike Glasgow Tony James FAA Safety Inspector 2013 NORAD Reduced Visibility Requires The Kings on The Human Component in Personal Responsibility for Vigilance a Mechanical System Flight Safety Thursday Tim Sorenson John & Martha King Aaron Sauer April 11, King Schools NTSB NTSB 2013 NTSB To Err is Human: Airmen Medicals Charles Taylor and Meet The FAA Managing the Mistakes We Dr. James R. Fraser Wright Brothers Friday Douglas R. Murphy, Make FAA Award Ceremony FAA April 12, Susan Parson Deputy Federal Air Surgeon Ken R. Kelley Regional Administrator Editor, FAA Safety Brie fi ng FAA Southern Region Why Wise Pilots Choose Flight Services: Town Hall with WINGS What’s New— During Takeo ff and Landing Saturday Congressman Sam Graves Bryan W. Neville What’s Coming! Earl F. Weener, Ph.D.

th (R – MO 6 District) April 13, FAA Safety Team Jim Derr & Mike Glasgow Board Member Program Manager NTSB Flying to Sun ‘n Fun this year?

Commercial Airline Sunday If so, you will need to follow this link

FAA Careers Passenger Safety & You

April 14, Brent Harper or scan this QR code to download the Southwest Airlines latest Sun ‘n Fun 2013 NOTAM.

O ffi cial FAA Forums are held at the FAA Southern Region Safety Center located in the middle of the exhibit area at the corner of Laird Drive and Sun ‘n Fun Drive.

Icons indicate availability of The FAA Center opens daily at 8:00 a.m. and the FAA Exhibits open daily at 9:00 a.m.

AMT, WINGS Award Credit, Schedule is subject to change; & WEBinars for updates scan the QR code at the right or go to: .

R-3.0.0a c o ur t ne y s c o t t, d . o .

M a n ager, a ero S pace Me D ic a l

Ask Medical Certification c er t i F ic at ion Di v i S ion

Q: I currently have authorization for special a : There is a very good possibility you will be able issuance due to a diagnosis of Meniere’s disease. It to qualify for either special issuance and, if there is expires April 30, 2014. My AME may issue another damage to your vocal cords as a result of the cancer medical in April 2013 with favorable reports from treatment, you may need to perform a Medical my attending physician. I have had no symptoms Flight Test to demonstrate the ability to adequately now for several years. I have been diagnosed with communicate. The latter would result in a Statement prostate cancer however, and will be seeing a sur- of Demonstrated Ability (SODA). The FAA would geon for possible removal. I am assuming it will continue to follow your coronary artery disease as it be removed and hopefully my situation will have a has been doing.

favorable outcome. I will self ground myself once

Q: My background is that I have Multiple Scle-

that occurs. I believe current FAA policy rosis and I am currently taking Gilenya. I know requires that I wait at least six weeks Send your questions to you have addressed this before, but I have follow- before I provide the FAA with a waiver SafetyBriefing@faa.gov.

up questions regarding MS and Gilenya/Tysabri request. As for the specifics the FAA will medications. Right now it seems as though nei- We’ll forward them to need (as I understand it): the opera- ther of these is compatible with safe flying, but I the Aerospace Medical tive report, pathology report from the was under the impression that the FAA evaluates procedure, a current status report from Certification Division new drugs after they have been on the market for the treating urologist that addresses without your name and a year or so. Is this accurate? If so, and since both any complications and treatment, and a publish the answer in of these medications have been on the market for current PSA level. Do I do this through an upcoming issue.

this long, have these drugs already been evalu- my AME, the Regional Office, or direct ated? If not, is there a plan to evaluate one or to Oklahoma? What will happen to my current both of them? Does taking one of these medica- authorization and/or will they be combined into tions immediately discount a potential pilot from one authorization? What will the likely authoriza- acquiring a medical certificate?

tion date be?

a : Natalizumab (Tysabri is the brand name)

a : You are well informed as to what we currently

has been approved for use by the FAA but there need. You are correct in that you must ground your- are new findings that are of concern. Specifically, self. The information you list above is exactly what the FDA has posted warnings about a condition the FAA needs. My recommendation is that you called Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy take this information to your AME. In the very near (PML) that has us concerned. At present, we are still future, the prostate cancer condition, if it is uncom- approving this medication if certain conditions are plicated, will not require special issuance.

met. Fingolimod (Gilenya is the brand name) was Q: I have a special issuance of a third-class approved by the FDA in late 2010. You are correct airman medical certificate due to having a stent that we generally will consider a medication one in 2008. Recently I ceased operations because of year after FDA approval. However, there are reports diagnosis, surgery, and ongoing treatment for of significant cardiovascular events with fingolimod vocal cord cancer. I am taking Plavix, Ramipril, that have us concerned. At this point in time we Lipitor, and aspirin, but I am not taking Prilosec have not approved Gilenya for use by pilots.

(delayed so as not to interfere with Plavix). Upon completion of my treatment, I will furnish all Courtney Scott, D.O., M.P.H., is the Manager of the Aerospace Medical documentation. If the treatment is successful, is it Certification Division in Oklahoma City, Okla. He is board certified in aero- possible for me to obtain continued special issu- space medicine and has extensive practice experience in civilian, and both ance or other third-class privileges?

military and non-military government settings.

8 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 S A B R I N A W O O D S

Get-Home-Itis

The Keys to Treating an “Airborne” Disease

Well, here you are, sitting in the back of an ambulance as it carefully picks its way through the rutted, muddy cow pasture from which you were retrieved. You watch as a medical technician dutifully takes your vitals and assesses your overall status. You are pretty well off, considering. You escaped with a bumped head, and some minor cuts and bruises — the largest being an ugly purple thing above your left knee where it hit the instrument panel during your rather abrupt “landing.” Your beautiful Beechcraft Bonanza, however, has not fared so well. It lies in a heap, having been knocked from the sky only an hour earlier.

March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 9 How did you get here? Let us rewind the clock a First you have to figure out that something is amiss bit and go back to before the dénouement — a liter- and then determine if you need to act or if you would ary term for the outcome of a dramatic sequence of rather adapt to it. Once you choose the most desir- events. In this case it was the moment when things able outcome, you then identify which actions will went sour. successfully put things back to right. Lastly, once you do whatever it is you decided to do, you then Mental Conversations evaluate whether or not it worked. Sometimes this “If that other guy made it, then so can I!” requires beginning the cycle all over again if it didn’t “I’m almost there, let’s just do it and get it over with.” end up the way you wanted it to.

This might seem really drawn out, but, in reality, “I don’t want to divert — too much work.” decision-making can happen in a split second, or it “I’ve done this before, I can do it again.” can take a more systemic, deliberate path. Aeronau- tical decision-making tends to be a hybrid of both.

“I can handle this. I’ve got 20 years of experience on my side.” Many Aliases, Same Danger “I’m so tired, The study of human factors in aviation has grown exponentially since its World War II days.

I just want to get

As a result, accident and mishap analysts have real- ” ized that most incidents occur as a result of human

home!

error, rather than mechanical failure or external Have you ever found yourself uttering these hazards. Some of the better known human factor phrases in the back of your head while flying — categories are fatigue, poor communication/CRM, maybe even aloud to a passenger, or to no one at all?

compartmentalization, and disorientation. In this Likely it was at the onset of a particularly harrowing article, we will focus on get-home-itis, otherwise situation that gave you enough pause to start a cycle known as fixation.

of rationalization. It could have been anything from Get-home-itis is a funny sounding colloquial- flying VFR into IMC, to trying to execute an unstable ism, but the danger behind it is very real. It is when approach. Regardless of what got you into the hairy the desire to get to a destination overrides logic, situation, you had some decisions to make.

sound decision-making, and basic instinct. This urge Decision-making is a pretty complicated process to push on regardless of the data telling you that it broken into many stages in order to effect change.

might not be the best decision can often result in An aircraft after a thunderstorm encounter.

Photo by David W. Cox, Fairbanks FSDO 10 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 mishap, and it’s a prevalent issue for the general officials scratching their heads when they finally aviation (GA) community. arrived to the vacated scene.

Get-home-itis struck the pilot who, after filing Abandoning the scene of an accident notwith- IFR with a controller, was notified that inclement standing, one must also wonder if the rush to get weather was on the way. He acknowledged, pointed to the event might have trumped a sound preflight his plane down the runway, and initiated takeoff. In airworthiness check. This is an example of get- all his haste to get home, he never made it. home-itis’ equally evil twin, get- there -itis. The phe- Then there were the football fans who, in their nomenon takes on many other aliases: press-on-itis, quest to make it to the big game, deserted their air- hurry-home syndrome, and goal fixation, to name a craft in a field after a mechanical issue forced them few. They all result in the same willful determination to crash-land. Instead of alerting officials and getting to push through regardless of the results.

checked out by a medical facility, the group hailed a Anatomy of an “Itis” cab and went on their way to the game, leaving local The Go/No-Go Game The scenario : y ou’ve done it! y ou managed to score tickets to the big game — seats so close you will be able to feel the spray from the celebra- tory “Gatorade dunk” at the very end. y ou will be treating your teenager and his best friend to the festivities.

lack recent experience operating in i M c , and partly i t isn’t a long flight — just under two hours because the combination of freezing temperatures from your home base at Manassas to the airport and visible moisture could lead to icing conditions at v irginia t ech. i t isn’t a route you are terri- in flight. i f the t AFs prove overly optimistic, you bly familiar with, but it has been well-traveled might find yourself in somewhat challenging condi- by other members of your club and nobody tions later on. y ou briefly consider pulling the plug has described it as a big challenge. y our p iper on the flight, even though it’s too late to get there c herokee s ix is equipped with an approach- in time by driving. But one look at your teen’s eager capable i F r G ps . y ou also have a standard face makes you dread having to disappoint him.

navigational radio that has glideslope, and a And, admittedly, you don’t want to look like a wimp hand-held G ps with weather datalink. i n addition, in front of your teen and his best friend.

you have a shiny new i p ad complete with your s o off you go. As expected, the weather favorite electronic flight bag app. y ou are instru- at departure is cold but clear and sunny. As ment-rated and legally current, but you haven’t you fly south, though, the clear skies gradu- flown in instrument meteorological conditions for ally become murky, and then milky. y ou start to quite a while and it’s been ages since you made realize that it’s difficult to see straight in front an actual approach in i M c .

of you but you can still see the ground when you w hen you did your initial flight planning a look straight down. t hat’s still v F r , right? And few days ago, the weather was forecast to be anyway you can always turn around and head colder than it typically is for this time of year. y our back to better weather.

c herokee s ix is not approved for flight into known But … do you? e very mile you fly is an addi- icing conditions, but no problem since it is — or tional investment in the idea of getting to your was — v F r weather. o n game day, you find that destination. Just a few more minutes and you can it’s v F r at Manassas, but i F r at v irginia t ech.

start descending to land. y ou tune in the A tis , w eather en route starts with v F r , falls to M v F r , only to learn that it’s still i F r , which means you’ll and then to i F r nearer to Blacksburg. A review of have to shoot an approach in i M c to an unfamiliar the t AFs, though, indicates that conditions are sup- airport and with challenging terrain.

posed to improve to v F r by your et A. y ou’re a mite What would you do?

uneasy about these conditions, partly because you March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 11 In addition to defining human factor errors, a bit better. Check out the scenario in the sidebar researchers have also tried to understand why it is on page 11. Give it a read and surmise for yourself; we do the things we do. What motivates experienced, what would you do? The point is to get you thinking safety-conscious pilots to make poor decisions or about it. Education and awareness go a long way in invite unnecessary risk? And why does it seem to preventing a mishap.

happen often, despite the educational materials out So does data collection. This is a key part of flight there warning us about the peril? It is important for preparation. Make sure that all essential information us to understand the “why” if we are to avoid falling for your flight is available at your fingertips if needed prey to it. and that your charts are up to date. Ensure that your With get-home-itis, the focus is so intense, it destination is ready to receive you. Evaluate your seemingly comes at any cost. It aircraft to make sure you have the fuel required can be self-generated or exter- should diverting be necessary, and review anti-icing Patience is essential to survival, nally imposed; like wanting to procedures germane to your aircraft. And if there is and hindsight can be a real devil.

make a loved one’s social event. a weather report, NOTAMs, or pilot cross-tell to be We will ignore data contrary to had, heed it!

our own plans. We will disregard warnings from out- Next, always have a contingency plan when you side resources such as air traffic control and weather go out to fly, because let’s face it, just because you applications. Even more alarming, we will dismiss intend for something to go a certain way doesn’t our inane “Spidey sense” — that feeling we get when mean it’s going to happen — particularly when we know something is wrong, or that danger is near. Mother Nature is involved. Before you take off, iden- It doesn’t just happen in flight, either. I can tify potential hazards en route to your destination.

recall times when I have been so focused on getting Determine your personal threshold — the point that to a destination while driving, especially here in your skill, experience, and that “Spidey sense” meet traffic-heavy Washington, D.C., that I took more, their no-go limit. Doing this beforehand goes a long ultimately unnecessary risks in order to achieve my way in decreasing the inevitable stress having to goal. Perhaps I was running late. I might have sped. deviate can bring later.

I might have cut just a bit too closely to that Sub- The best time to form a Plan B is before you need urban in the adjacent lane in order to pass another to use it. Then once in the air, if plans change, take vehicle. I might have gunned it rather than slowed the necessary time to set up for a new approach and at a yellow light. Each of these decisions could have proceed already having an idea as to what it is you had costly consequences and, in reality, taking my want to do.

time and arriving safe and sound should have been In conclusion, lower risk does not necessarily my true focus. equal less desirable. Yes, it might equal more work: Does any of this sound familiar? If so, you too more paperwork; an unexpected overnight stay; might have fallen victim to an itis , and it isn’t hard a more serpentine route; an aborted landing; or a to see how these behaviors might transfer to the go-around. But the fact of the matter is that these cockpit. The “why” is because we simply want to get lower risk options are not less desirable, especially if there, and a host of reasons act as validation for this. the result can be the difference in arriving safe and We may feel that we have already invested too much sound. Patience is essential to survival, and hind- to turn back or change plans. We may argue that our sight can be a real devil.

experience and flight prowess will surely prevail. We Back to you and your beached Beechcraft; you may just wish and hope for the best, and feel that admit it — you were in a hurry to get home. You had that serves as enough reason to keep going. What we promised you would be there for your son’s first don’t realize is that in doing this — in rationalizing — time in net for his high school varsity hockey team, we have passed up much safer opportunities. so you took some risks. Your buddy warned you that the weather was getting rough out towards your Lower Risk ≠ Less Desirable destination, and your favorite weather app on your The best way to combat the phenomenon is tablet also noted winds in excess of 20 knots with to study up on it; recognize that it exists and that potential for downbursts. You remembered an old you might be susceptible to it. Articles such as this CFI had once warned against hurrying off to fly when and others published by aviation and safety forums continued on page 26 are available to help you understand the process 12 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013

Fast-track Your

Medical Certificate

With FAA MedXPress, you can get your

medical certificate faster than ever before.

Here’s how: Before your appointment with your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) simply go online to FAA MedXPress at https://medxpress.

faa.gov/ and electronically complete FAA Form 8500-8. Information entered into MedXPress will be available to your AME to review prior to and at the time of your medical examination, if you provide a confirmation number.

With this online option you can complete FAA Form 8500-8 in the privacy and comfort of your home and submit it before your appointment.

The service is free and can be found at:

https://medxpress.faa.gov/

ATTENTION:

As of Oct. 1, 2012, pilots

must now use MedXpress

to apply for a

Medical Certificate.

Sprouting New

WINGS

Revamped Proficiency Program Gets to the Core of GA Safety

B R y A N N E V I L L E he WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program is the WINGS activities are tied directly to those topics FAA’s recurrent training program for general that are most often associated with common pilot T aviation (GA) pilots. Perhaps you’ve had errors, lack of proficiency, and in some cases, faulty experience with it in one of its earlier — and admit- knowledge. To get a more thorough understanding of tedly antiquated — iterations. Or, maybe you’re new these causal factors, the FAA conducted a review of to aviation and have overheard bits and pieces of all aircraft accidents in the United States over a two- what WINGS is from an instructor or at a seminar. year period. This extensive review resulted in a list of In either case, you owe it to yourself to visit (or six accident causal factors by aircraft category and revisit) the new and improved WINGS program. class, which appeared most often in accident reports.

In addition to several look-and-feel changes that Factoring it All In enhance the user experience, the program has also Each of the six causal factors identified are been updated to focus more on the key safety issues addressed in the training requirements for WINGS.

that affect you as an airman.

For example, to satisfy the requirements for an activ- Interested? Then allow me to show you what a ity that covers aeronautical decision making (ADM), new pair of WINGS can do for you.

pilots may be asked, after completing an online What’s it About?

course covering general ADM, to discuss with their The bottom-line mission of WINGS is fairly instructor the decision-making principles associated simple: reduce the number of GA accidents. To with safe airport runway/surface operations.

accomplish that objective, WINGS employs an For the purposes of the WINGS program, the six assortment of targeted education and training accident causal factors have been broken out into opportunities to help pilots apply the principles three knowledge and three flight areas as follows: of aviation risk assessment and risk management.

Knowledge Topics By following the program requirements available 1. Aeronautical decision making, including at FAASafety.gov, you’ll take away important life- runway safety issues saving strategies and skills from a combination of flying- and knowledge-based tasks. Successfully 2. Performance and limitations, including loss of completing the activities allows participants to control issues earn credits towards a Basic, Advanced, or Master 3. Preflight planning, risk management, and fuel set of WINGS.

management 14 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 plete a phase at the Basic level at least once every Flight Topics 12 calendar months. This helps ensure awareness 1. Takeoffs and landings of accident causal factors and possible mitigation 2. Positive aircraft control, including loss of strategies. Keep in mind that this list may change control issues periodically, reflecting the dynamic nature of 3. Basic flying skills accident causal factors and FAA Safety Team (FAAS- Team) emphasis areas.

Program requirements, which include specific The Advanced Level is for pilots who want a subjects and flight maneuvers from the appropriate training program that will take them a step above the FAA Practical Test Standards (PTS), are established Basic Level. It affords you the opportunity, in concert for all categories and classes of GA aircraft. Pilots with your instructor, to tailor the training to fit more are encouraged to participate in activities tailored to specific needs. The performance standards at the the aircraft they typically fly and in which they wish Advanced level of WINGS are generally based on the to demonstrate flight proficiency. And while many commercial pilot standards.

tasks are pre-selected for WINGS credit, there are The Master level provides even more flexibil- a number of activities a pilot may choose based on ity for specialized training. While this level often their individual needs. Naturally, all training must requires the use of higher PTS standards, it will place special emphasis on safety of flight operations.

also allow for the addition of specialized equip- And to promote standardization, proficiency must be ment and flight environment training scenarios. It demonstrated to an applicable standard, such as PTS.

requires using the Commercial or Airline Transport Mastering the Basics Pilot (ATP) PTS, Although you may complete as many phases as and sometimes the The WINGS program is designed so that you wish, WINGS only requires the completion of one Certificated Flight pilots are exposed to six topic areas — three phase at the Basic level every 12 months to remain Instructor (CFI) PTS knowledge topics and three flight topics — to current in the program. However, some are just not and the Instrument satisfied with accomplishing the bare minimum.

address the primary accident causal factors Rating PTS (if one For this reason, three levels were established — is available), for the that are reported most often during accident Basic, Advanced, and Master — with phases within category and class of investigations.

each level. Participants can earn as many phases in aircraft used.

each level as they wish by accomplishing each of the While many pilots will be satisfied with their corresponding knowledge and flight requirements.

accomplishments at the Basic level, the Advanced and Each level, accompanied by an increasingly higher Master levels are available for pilots wishing to demon- phase number within each level, indicates the pilot’s strate a higher level of skill and proficiency. If you wish commitment to ongoing and consistent training.

to obtain the Advanced or Master level, remember that Each of the three levels covers knowledge areas pilots must simultaneously complete or already hold a and skill sets that have been noted in accident current phase at the next lower level.

reports; however, the Advanced and Master levels require a progressively higher proficiency standard.

Primary accident causal factors are addressed at Here are some interesting metrics since the the Basic level, while additional causal factors are automated program was launched in 2007 that help gauge the success of WINGS: addressed at the Advanced and Master levels.

• 28,400 phases of WINGS completed Level With Me (16,200 earned at the Basic level) The Basic level is designed for pilots who want • 183,000 users who have earned at least to establish a recurrent training program that will one WINGS credit provide a higher level of proficiency than merely • 95,000 flight activities completed preparing for a normal flight review, and generally requires the use of the Private Pilot PTS. (An airman • 361,000 WINGS credits earned by holding a sport or recreational pilot certificate may attending a seminar use those standards at the Basic level.) In addition, • 430,000 WINGS credits earned by because only the Basic level addresses primary acci- completing online courses dent causal factors, every pilot is required to com- March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 15 skill learned and/or retained, and not on the reward Suffering from Proficiency Deficiency?

of a flight review.

One of the reasons WINGS credits expire after 12 calendar months is that we simply want GA pilots to Sprout Your WINGS Today stay up-to-date with the knowledge and skills that will The WINGS program provides the opportunity, keep them flying safely on a regular basis. One year the structure, and the recognition for pilots to con- has been determined to be the most advantageous tinue their aviation education. Check it out today timeframe and also the accepted recurrent training and see how WINGS can help you develop a per- period for many commercial pilots worldwide.

sonal roadmap to greater aviation safety.

After you earn enough credits to complete a phase of WINGS, you never lose that phase. How- Bryan Neville is a FAA Operations Inspector presently assigned as the ever, knowledge and proficiency can fade over outreach program manager for the FAASTeam.

time, hence, the recurrent training requirement of Contributing to this article was Tom Hoffmann, managing editor of F aa the WINGS program. We encourage pilots to earn Safety Briefing .

another phase of WINGS at the Basic level by renew- ing their knowledge and skill at least once every 12 Learn More calendar months.

One other important detail about earning a FAA Advisory Circular 61-91J, WINGS–Pilot Proficiency phase of WINGS is that it allows the pilot an alternate Program www.faa.gov/document l ibrary/media/ a dvisory_ c ircular/ ac %20 method of meeting the requirements of the flight 61-91J.pdf review regulation in Title 14 Code of Federal Regula- WINGS User’s Guide tions (14 CFR) section 61.56. While we feel this is a www.faasafety.gov/documents/Wings_Manual.pdf strong incentive to participate in the program, we prefer to place the emphasis on the knowledge and 16 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 17 J A M E S W I L L I A M S

Setting

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate – and Evaluate Risk

Priorities

umans aren’t very good at evaluating risk. It’s a sad truth that contributes to the potential danger of aviation. One problem

H is that real danger, or risk, is different from perceived risk. We

tend to either over or under “value” the risks we face. The authors of Freakonomics explored this topic extensively in the context of parent- ing. They compared the risks of allowing children to play at a home with a gun and at a home with a swimming pool. What they found is counterintuitive: the home with the pool was more dangerous, because swimming pools accounted for more child deaths a year.

This isn’t to say that the home with the gun is without risk. The com- parison merely illustrates that the risk from the pool is greater. Most people would think that the opposite was true, however, because we tend to overvalue the risk posed by the gun (remembering of course that there is still risk) and undervalue the risk from the pool.

Now let’s apply this approach to aviation. Which activity poses greater risk: an hour of pattern work, or an hour-long cross country?

You might think it’s the cross country, but statistics would argue you’re wrong because the majority of accidents occur during the takeoff/initial climb and approach/maneuvering/landing phases of flight. Pilots on a cross country will spend most of their time in the relatively safe en route phase. As in the pool-vs.-gun example, both activities carry risk but one is statistically more dangerous than the other. The hour of touch-and-go landings will occur entirely within the higher risk phase of flight. And consider this number: those higher risk phases of flight account for 77 percent of accidents, but only 17 percent of flight time.

So, what can we do? The first step is to focus on priorities and possible outcomes.

Photo by George Soteropoulos 18 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 to navigating and to communicating, but apparently Priorities none to flying until seconds before impact.

One of the earliest lessons in flight training is We’ve all probably had mechanical issues of one the aviation order of operations: Aviate, Navigate, kind or another in our flying career. And, in most Communicate. In priority order, you should: fly the cases, we’d be lucky to have the airplane (Aviate), figure out where you are and where assistance of another pilot, much you’re heading (Navigate), and, as appropriate, talk One of the earliest lessons in less two other pilots, to trouble- to ATC or someone outside the airplane (Communi- flight training is the aviation order shoot the problem. Despite cate). It seems so simple, but it’s easy to forget when of operations: Aviate, Navigate, all the advantages the crew in you get busy in the cockpit.

Communicate. It seems simple, this situation had, the outcome A famous example of failure to follow the but it’s easy to forget when you get was still disastrous because the established aviation priorities is the crash of Eastern busy in the cockpit.

entire crew became engrossed in Airlines Flight 401. In December 1972, the crew of the mechanical issue and no one a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar became focused on the was left to keep the airplane in the air. While there malfunction of a landing gear position indicator light were other contributing factors in this accident to be for the nose gear. The plane subsequently descended sure, the most critical was failure to aviate.

into the Everglades northwest of Miami, killing 101 of the 176 people on board (two people died more Possible Outcomes than seven days after the accident). What happened?

When dealing with an emergency or abnormal The crew − captain, first officer, and second officer/ situation, the first thing to consider is what outcomes flight engineer − had aborted an approach at Miami are possible given the circumstance presented.

when the nose gear light failed to illuminate. There Having options makes it possible to evaluate them was also a company aircraft mechanic in the jump- and assess how likely they are to occur.

seat. The flight was vectored away from the airport at Consider another example, which involves the 2,000 feet to allow the crew and mechanic to trouble- October 2006 accident of a Cirrus SR-20 in New shoot the problem. The captain instructed the first York City. The Cirrus owner and an instructor were officer, who was flying, to engage the autopilot. The attempting to turn around in the East River corridor.

first officer acknowledged that instruction from the They slammed into an apartment building when captain and then removed the nose gear light bulb.

they could not complete the turn in the space avail- While attempting to replace it, the light jammed.

able. It was essentially an urban box canyon with a The crew and mechanic continued to work the “roof” of 1,100 feet, which was the base of the overly- problem, and eventually both the second officer and ing Class B airspace. Unfortunately, the aircraft hit mechanic went below the flight deck to physically check the position of the nose gear.

During the distraction of troubleshooting, the aircraft began a shallow descent that, in the dark- Air Traffic Controllers are a great safety resource, ness, the crew did not detect. In fact, their fixation but your first priority should be to control the aircraft.

with the gear light continued, along with conversa- Here we see Air Traffic Controllers deployed to a tions with ATC, until seven seconds before impact. remote location to help guide aircraft into Sun ‘n Fun.

At that point, the conversation went as follows: First Officer: “We did something to the altitude.” Captain: “What?” First Officer: “We’re still at 2,000, right?” Captain: “Hey, what’s happening here?” Seconds later the aircraft slammed into the Everglades.

In this example, a highly experienced and well-trained crew of three professional pilots (with the added bonus of a company mechanic) failed to follow the order of operations. Not one of the three was actually flying the airplane. They paid attention Photo by H Dean Chamberlain March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 19 Photos by Tom Hoffmann (left), Susan Parson Parson (right) Navigating, whether by electronics, or by chart, should be secondary in your priority system.

the 500-foot tall building around the 300-foot level. You might just make it with the first option, or The NTSB later concluded that the aircraft was in a end up in the kind of accident scenario that actually 40 to 45 degree bank, when the minimum bank angle occurred. Taking the second option might give the to complete the turn would have been 50 degrees. building occupants a scare, but it would have elimi- It’s easy to sit at home and say, “I would never nated the danger. Of course there are likely to be do that,” and file the accident away as something regulatory repercussions, but the accident scenario that happens to other people. alternative is far worse.

But that’s not a productive There is a third option. As the NTSB suggests, the Part of the PIC’s responsibility for attitude, and it doesn’t help pilot could request permission to transition north preflight planning and conduct of the improve the system. After all, until it is possible to make a safe turn. While ATC flight is to avoid situations that require no pilot gets up in the morn- might be reluctant to grant such a request, remem- ing and says, “I’m going to ber that the pilot in command holds the ultimate a choice between breaking regulatory do something stupid that no authority and responsibility for safety of the flight.

barriers and breaching physical barriers.

other pilot would do, and it’s The PIC can declare an emergency and request ATC going to cause an accident.” Instead, let’s look at the assistance in finding a place to turn around.

cultural issues that could have contributed to the The point of these illustrations is to combine pilot’s inability to perceive and appropriately evalu- two important concepts: realistic risk evaluation/ ate all available options. mitigation, and order of operations. Part of the The NTSB mentions the problem in its accident PIC’s responsibility for preflight planning and con- report: duct of the flight is to avoid situations that require a choice between breaking regulatory barriers (e.g., The pilots may have been concerned about the con- Class B airspace) and breaching physical barriers sequences of inadvertently penetrating the Class B (e.g., the ground or an obstacle such as a building).

airspace or flying over Manhattan Island. However, But when such a choice must be made, it’s impor- in a situation such as this, pilots should place a tant to evaluate the risk, make the best choice for higher priority on maintaining aircraft control.

safety of flight, and remember the mantra of Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.

The report goes on to describe how the pilots A final thought: if you think you might be in an could have prevented the accident by climbing above the buildings, or by requesting clearance to emergency, then you probably are. Use the PIC’s authority and declare an emergency. It’s always enter the Class B airspace. But look at the situation better to explain your actions from a safe place on from the perspective of a pilot arriving at the north the ground than to have the NTSB speculating about end of the East River exclusion area. You start to turn, but you seem to be running out of room to complete them in a report you aren’t around to read.

it. What are your options? You can continue with the turn in hope that everything will work out, or you can James Williams is F aa Safety Briefing’s assistant editor and photo editor.

climb and run wide over Manhattan. So what are the He is also a pilot and ground instructor.

possible outcomes of each of those options?

20 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 G U y M I N O R

Why Do

Smart People

Do Dumb Things?

The Art of Managing Mistakes

ave you ever noticed how we sometimes take a dent as well as help us understand the reasons behind perverse pleasure in reading articles that detail our own aerial blunders. To be able to fully benefit H aircraft accidents? That’s not terribly surpris- from the lessons an error can teach, it is imperative ing; after all, an accident account is a cautionary tale to walk in the shoes of the person who made the mis- complete with good guys and bad guys, tragedy and take. Then ask yourself: “Why would an otherwise well mayhem. You just can’t look away! meaning, bright individual make this mistake?” Another guilty pleasure of accident reports is To Err is Human … the ability to heave a sigh of relief because it wasn’t It might help to understand that error is part you, and perhaps you convince yourself that it of the human condition. The design of the human could never be you. Our natural tendency to make brain hardwires us for practices that lead to success judgments helps insulate us from the tragedy. The in addition to those that lead to errors. Success is the unfortunate pilot in the story somehow brought it on upside of having a brain, himself. He made a dumb move. He was somehow mistakes the downside.

deficient in experience or intelligence. It feels so The good news is that we can learn The problem is we often good to play the superior. It seems right to balance from errors and, if we recognize have no idea whether the scales of justice. There is a bad outcome; some- them, we can manage and mitigate to call our actions suc- Photo by Adrian Eichhorn one should pay the price.

cess or failure until we them before they cause harm.

But is this attitude helpful in making sense of the observe their outcome, situation? Before we start assigning blame, perhaps and sometimes it is just too late. In considering error, taking a closer look at the tangled relationship that it is useful to note that our brains have two functional exists between humans and errors can provide us modes: conscious workspace and long-term memory.

better insight into the “hows” and “whys” of an acci- March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 21 to work. Every morning he takes the same freeway entrance ramp. Now it’s the weekend, and his daughter asks him to drive her to a store located just beyond the familiar entrance ramp. As he approaches the ramp, he is deep in conversation.

What does he do? He takes the entrance ramp. It is his habit. He doesn’t even notice until his daughter asks, “Where are you going?” Have you ever made a similar mistake? Perhaps you set your coffee mug on the top of your car, and because it is not a common thing to do, it’s still there when you drive away. These are skill-based errors.

The way our brain processes routines pulled up from long term memory causes these errors.

Managing Mistakes Human error and human success come from the same psychological processes, so error in itself is not bad. It is the context in which we make the error that Photo by Tom Hoffmann makes it so dangerous. Errors made in an unforgiving context like aviation can easily lead to disaster. We If we encounter a problem we have never seen cannot change the penchant of people to make mis- before, we use the conscious workspace to “noodle takes. We can however ask why the mistake occurred, out” a solution. The conscious workspace operates and determine how to address the cause in a systemic in trial and error mode, and it is easy to understand (not individual) way. We can structure and manage how the trial and error mode might cause error. We the system, so it is less likely to promote error, and so try something. If it works, we call it success. If it does it will be more forgiving of error when it does occur.

not work, we call it error.

And we can look within ourselves. It is always If, on the other hand, we encounter a situation smart to learn from your mistakes, but smart pilots we have seen and solved in the past, we retrieve prefer to learn from others’ mistakes. When read- a program or skill from long-term memory to ing those accident and incident accounts, though, perform that task more quickly. These automatic avoid the smug and superior mindset we so often routines guide much of our behavior because we tend to assume. Consider that the people who are very comfortable working in mental autopilot made those mistakes are people just like you — mode. The error trap people who did not intend to do things that would lurks, though, because cause an accident or incident. It’s tempting to Our natural tendency to make judgments if something changes characterize the person as silly, thoughtless, incom- helps insulate us from tragedy. We assume about the context of petent, or reckless, but anyone — in fact, everyone the behavior during the that the unfortunate pilot in the story — can be adversely affected by a complex, confus- running of a skill pro- somehow brought it on himself.

ing, and stressful context.

gram, we need to alter The remedy is to focus on the “why,” not on the the program to account for the change. These kinds “who.” The “why” question deals with influences, of changes require us to exit autopilot mode, pay which gets to the systemic heart of the matter. And close attention, and then alter the plan to accom- that’s when you truly learn why smart people can modate the change. If we stay on mental autopilot do dumb things and how you can avoid a similar or if we don’t focus properly on the change, we situation.

might simply miss the change and continue with the old behavior. The problem, of course, is that the Guy Minor is a FAA Aviation Safety Inspector and is currently on detail as a old behavior may no longer be appropriate for a FAASTeam Program Manager with the Western-Pacific Region. Guy is also new situation. Result: error.

an adjunct instructor at the Transportation Safety Institute in Oklahoma City Let’s look at a specific example. A man wakes where he teaches the Experimental Aircraft Accident Investigation course.

up every morning, climbs into his car, and drives 22 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 J O H N S T E U E R N AG L E

Not Your Father’s PTS

t he p ractical t est s tandards documents for pilot certification have grown over the years, and one recent addi- tion reflects the idea that physical flying skills are necessary, but not sufficient, for safe operation in the complexities of today’s n ational Airspace s ystem ( n A s ).

s ince June 1, 2012, the pts has directed examiners to evaluate a pilot’s knowledge and skill in single pilot resource management ( sr M) throughout the practical test. t he principal tool for this evaluation is a scenario that is presented in the preflight discussion and continued through the flight and post flight portions of the test. t o prepare for this evaluation, applicants should review the aeronautical decision making (A d M) material in the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge , the Risk Management Handbook , and Advisory c ircular (A c ) 60-22 – Aeronautical Decision Making , all available at FAA.gov. t he pts contains additional reference documents.

o n a practical test, the examiner will evaluate applicants on six components of sr M: • Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) — Make sound decisions based on all available information. Be prepared to explain your decision making process in the context of an A d M model such as 3 p ( p erceive, p rocess, and p eform), or similar model. r ecognize and explain hazardous attitudes that may influence your decisions. d ecide upon and execute appropriate courses of action in response to the scenario and any other situations that arise during the test.

• Risk Management — u se risk management tools and models to evaluate hazards associated with flight, promulgate strategies and tactics for mitigating those hazards, and monitoring their effectiveness throughout the test. y ou’ll need to use a tool such as the p A ve checklist — p ilot, Aircraft, en v ironment, and e xternal p ressures — to explain and evaluate risk elements. y ou’ll also need to explain your personal minimums using a tool such as the i M s AF e checklist — i llness, Medication, s tress, Alcohol, Fatigue and e ating. y ou’ll use weather reports and forecasts to determine weather risks associated with the flight. y ou’ll explain how to recognize, assess, and mitigate risks with the aid of the 5 p model — p ilot, p lane, p lan, p assengers, automation p rogramming.

• Task Management — l ike circus jugglers keeping balls in the air, pilots must simultaneously manage (and prioritize) tasks required for aviation, navigation, and communication. Automation helps, but it also introduces additional workload, which is why it has its own sr M area. s uccessful applicants will explain their task prioritization, complete tasks in a timely manner while coping with distractions, and execute all checklists and procedures without increasing workload at critical times.

• Situational Awareness (SA) — p ilots must be aware of their position at all times, but effective situational awareness incorporates additional parameters that assess where we are, where we’re going, and how we’re going to get there. s uccessful applicants will explain and maintain s A throughout the test. s A is especially important during taxi operations in order to prevent runway incursions.

• Controlled Flight into Terrain Awareness (CFIT-A) — An element of situational awareness, c F it -A places additional emphasis on clearance from terrain. Applicants will use current charts and navigation equipment to maintain terrain clearance. i f your aircraft is equipped with a Ground p roximity w arning s ystem (G pws ) or t errain Awareness and w arning s ystem ( t A ws ), you’ll need to explain and demonstrate its operation. y ou’ll also need to assess terrain clearance when you’re planning takeoffs and landings, or diverting from course.

• Automation Management — t he newest challenge for pilots involves getting the most out of the vast array of automation devices installed on general aviation aircraft. t his sr M area requires applicants to be thoroughly familiar with all autopilot and flight management systems on board the aircraft, use automation to reduce pilot workload when appropriate, and maintain the automation equipment in the appropriate mode for the current flight condition.

i t’s definitely not your father’s pts , but the addition of tasks involved in sr M will help to ensure a lifetime of safe and enjoyable flying.

John Steuernagle is a FAASTeam Program Manager with the Western-Pacific Region.

March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 23

Checklist s us A n pA r son

The “Right” of Spring

When Russian composer Igor Stravinsky have noticed in thumbing through the March/April debuted his Rite of Spring ballet and orchestral 2013 issue of FAA Safety Briefing : work for the spring 1913 concert season in Paris, its Cover : To give you a better “at a glance” idea of advanced composition style nearly caused a “riot of what’s inside, we have already begun to list two to spring” amongst the audience.

three article titles and locations on the cover.

Although Stravinsky’s work has achieved world- Table of Contents : We significantly transformed wide acceptance and acclaim in the century since the inside front cover area to give you a larger and its inaugural performance, its tumultuous begin- more informative table of contents page.

nings illustrate an enduring reality about the human resistance to change. Notwithstanding the well-worn Department/Column Banners : Sharp-eyed cliché about change as readers will know that we have already been using the only true constant in a different department/column banner style in the It has become a rite of spring to our ever-evolving world, FAA Faces department. In this issue, we have aligned introduce design updates in our March/ we kick and scream and the rest of the banners with this design, which gives April issue, perhaps to coincide not only dig in our heels whenever us more space for content. We’ve updated the design with spring renewal, but also with the someone presumes to elements for each department/column banner and, true beginning of the aviator’s year.

“improve” upon things that to improve each area’s visual identity, we have given are familiar. As Stravinsky each a unique color scheme.

(like Mozart, Beethoven, and many other composers Back Cover : We’ve already been using QR codes before him) learned, audiences were familiar with for the magazine’s website, which, as reported in the how music “should” sound, and they were outraged January/February 2013 ATIS Department, now pro- by the presumption they might be persuaded to like vides links to mobile-friendly versions of FAA Safety something new.

Briefing . We’re adding a QR code for our Twitter Though we are far from the kind of dramatic handle — @FAASafetyBrief — so you can scan with avant-garde change that ignited such passion in a smartphone and go straight to our Twitter feed. If Paris a century ago, resistance to change (both you’re not already following us on Twitter, we hope ours and yours) is always a factor in the magazine you’ll take the opportunity to do so.

team’s discussions and decisions about the style and We hope you will find these design changes format of this magazine. As longer-term readers may to your liking — a “right” of spring rather than a remember, we unveiled the first major overhaul — a “riot.” And, though you can probably expect to see significant break with the past — in the March/April additional design changes in the years to come, we issue published in 2008. In the March/April issue promise that our commitment to serving you as the for 2010, we made more changes. As explained at FAA safety policy voice for non-commercial general the time, we took advantage of changes driven by aviation is as constant as the northern star.

agency branding requirements to develop a more open cover. Because the magazine’s name at the Susan Parson (susan.parson@faa.gov, or @avi8rix for Twitter fans) is editor time — FAA Aviation News — was no longer an accu- of F aa Safety Briefing . She is an active general aviation pilot and flight rate reflection of our mission, we also used this issue instructor.

to introduce a new and, we think more descriptive, name: FAA Safety Briefing .

A Different Rite of Spring It seems to have become a rite of spring for us to introduce design and other updates in our March/ April edition — perhaps because it is consistent not only with the idea of spring renewal, but also with the notion of spring as the true beginning of the aviator’s year. Here are some of the changes you may 24 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013

Nuts, Bolts, and Electrons s A B r in A w oods

“A Thousand Times Before …”

A Look at Complacency in the Workplace

One of my hobbies is baking, and the holiday “I Got This” Complacency season gives me a chance to flex my Iron Chef prowess Many of you recognize complacency as one and break out the bamboo spatulas and silicone bake- of the famous “Dirty Dozen” factors that threaten ware. A favorite recipe is chocolate chip cookies, and safety. Merriam-Webster defines complacency as it is one that I do often. So often that I know the recipe self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of cold. So cold that I’m sure I don’t need to bother with actual dangers or deficiencies. Human factors theo- tracking down the dog-eared recipe card to follow it. I rists define complacency as becoming overconfident got this . I’ve done this a thousand times before.

in one’s work, to the point of assuming that since Such was my attitude one day in December something has worked in the past, it will work the when I wanted to bring some treats to the office in same way in the future. In other words, if you have a goodwill gesture. Approximately one hour after done something “a thousand times,” why should you pinches of this, dashes of that, and some vigorous look at the technical data to confirm you are cor- mixing, my cookies came out of the oven. Imagine rectly installing that oil pump? The answer is, quite my horror when I found misshapen, hard little lumps simply, because you might make a mistake. And, of pale yellow coal instead of the moist, delicious, unlike the cookie conundrum, a mistake in aviation golden-brown goodness I was expecting. Puzzled maintenance might not be as easy a fix as throwing it and disappointed, I scratched my head until I figured away and starting over.

it out. I had forgotten the baking soda.

When complacency kicks in, people often allow Although seemingly a minor element of the experience to guide expectations. We humans like to recipe (one easily overlooked when relying on take shortcuts or skip “unnecessary” steps. We dis- memory), that half teaspoon of baking soda is an miss the discipline of following the proper guidelines important catalyst in baking. It acts as a leavening and procedures, developing a potentially dangerous agent that keeps the dough tender and moist and, mindset that “everything will be ok and nothing in conjunction with salt, it also acts as a browning could possibly go wrong.” These faults compound agent (hence the pale yellow cookies). So into the when complacency meets fatigue in a combination trash went my coal, taking a generous chunk of my that can be disastrous.

ingredients — and some of my holiday goodwill.

Sweat the Small Stuff How could I mess up such an easy task I had My time in the Air Force afforded me the oppor- done a thousand times before? Though harmless in tunity to work with some of the sleekest, fastest, and this case (except to my pride), this little debacle is most lethal jets in the world. I can tell you that there a good illustration of what can happen if we aren’t is nothing more gut-wrenching than that moment careful in circumstances that matter a lot following an aircraft mishap when you realize that more.

you and your team might have done something wrong, or missed something vital.

What we do is important. Yes, it can feel monotonous and mundane at times, but every little detail of what we ser- vice or inspect matters. I personally know of a missing flap actuator cotter pin bringing down an F-15E, and in the commercial sector, Air Midwest Flight 5481 serves as a tragic example of what can happen when technicians fail to follow pro- cedures when rigging an elevator cable.

For general aviation, the dangers are just as prevalent. The accident databases are chock full of examples of incorrectly March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 25 installed levers, crossed wires, missing locking devices, and inappropriate hardware. I am willing to bet it was correct in the book every time, but some- where, someone made a mistake. Someone might have even become complacent. In short, someone failed to “sweat the small stuff.” Avoiding this pitfall is pretty easy. Always, always, ALWAYS perform every job according to reg-

alling

ulation and procedures. Checklists are your friends — use them! Never work from memory. Always go back and verify your job upon completion. Finally,

All

remind yourself of the dangers of complacency. It exists. We can all be susceptible if we aren’t careful,

Mechanics

and when that happens, we stand to lose a lot more than a batch of cookies.

Keep Informed with

Sabrina Woods is an assistant editor for the F aa Safety Briefing . She spent 12 years in the active duty Air Force where she served as an aircraft mainte- FAA’s Aviation nance officer and an aviation mishap investigator.

Maintenance Alerts

a viation Maintenance a lerts ( a dvisory c ircular – continued from page 12 43-16 a ) provide a communication channel to share information on aviation service experiences.

the weather wasn’t agreeable — or something like p repared monthly, they are based on information that — but you figured if you could just get airborne, F aa receives from people who operate and you would outrun the weather and be home in time maintain civil aeronautical products.

to catch the last two periods of the game. Despite the warnings and that ominous feeling in your gut, you t he alerts, which provide notice of conditions took off into the iron gray clouds. All seemed well reported via a Malfunction or Defect r eport until you started the descent to your destination.

or a Service Difficulty r eport, help improve Then it happened; the bottom simply dropped out.

aeronautical product durability, reliability, and As the ambulance makes its way down the maintain safety.

highway in the direction of town, you realize several Recent alerts cover: things, the first of which is that you are very lucky to be alive. The second is that you have just learned the • failed landing light and strobe light switches hard way what succumbing to get-home-itis can do.

on the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza The last? You are most definitely going to miss that • failed contact points on a Slick magneto hockey game.

• cracked exhaust on a Continental io -550- n engine Sabrina Woods is an assistant editor for the F aa Safety Briefing . She spent 12 years in the active duty Air Force where she served as an aircraft mainte- c heck out Aviation Maintenance Alerts nance officer and an aviation mishap investigator.

at FAA.gov 26 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 t o M h o F F M A nn

Angle of Attack

GA Safety Makes NTSB’s Most Wanted List

Last fall, the NTSB announced its list of top 10 • Delivered safety presentations at Sun ’n Fun transportation challenges for 2013. For the second and AirVenture to help pilots learn from the year in a row, general aviation (GA) safety made the accidents we investigate. NTSB staff also gave list. FAA Safety Briefing asked NTSB Board Member presentations at flight schools, flying clubs, Dr. Earl Weener about the significance of this list and aircraft mechanic groups, etc.

how it affects the NTSB’s safety outreach plans.

• Issued a Safety Alert cautioning pilots about how the actual age of NEXRAD (Next- What is the purpose of the NTSB’s Top 10 Most Generation Radar) mosaic imagery is always Wanted List? How are the items selected?

older than the age indicated on the display. In The NTSB’s mission is to improve transporta- some cases, this discrepancy can exceed 20 tion safety, which we do primarily by investigating minutes. The Safety Alert stressed that even accidents, conducting safety studies, and developing small differences between the age indicator recommendations and actual conditions are important for safety to prevent accidents.

of flight, especially when considering fast- Since the NTSB has no moving weather hazards.

regulatory authority, (Note: Safety Alerts are short handouts — typi- we need to advocate for others in govern- cally a few pages long — that define a safety hazard and provide examples of ways to avoid or mitigate ment, industry, and Photo courtesy of NTSB the hazard.)

the general public to take actions to improve What are the NTSB’s plans for GA outreach in safety. The Most 2013?

Wanted List (MWL) We recognize the need to reach out to the GA is one of the NTSB’s community directly — not everybody is going to primary tools for this take the initiative to go out and read our accident safety advocacy. Last reports and look for the lessons learned. For 2013, year the MWL was we are planning to issue more GA-specific Safety revamped to focus on Alerts, expand our in-person outreach efforts, the 10 items which the develop informational videos to highlight GA safety Board Members col- issues, and work with industry to improve our own lectively considered to data collection.

be high priority safety The NTSB staff has been working on drafts of NTSB Board Member Dr. Earl Weener areas. Each Board five Safety Alerts that they are planning to present at Member has two of a Board meeting in March. These Safety Alerts will the MWL items to focus on for the year. Since GA has address some of the most common types of fatal been an interest of mine for more than four decades, accidents that we discussed in our 2012 forums.

I welcome the opportunity to continue to focus on These include aerodynamic stalls in visual meteo- GA safety for another year.

rological conditions (part of the broader “loss of What did the NTSB do to advance the issue of control” category), controlled flight into terrain GA safety in the previous year? (CFIT) and spatial disorientation in reduced-visual reference conditions (also part of the loss of control In 2012, the NTSB: category), and accidents related to system or com- • Hosted a two-day GA safety forum in which we ponent failures. Two of the Safety Alerts will address asked representatives from federal agencies, risk management for pilots and mechanics.

industry, and academia to share thoughts on Once adopted, these Safety Alerts will be the how to improve GA safety through improved cornerstone of our GA outreach efforts for the rest safety programs, training, and aircraft of the year. They’ll be available in electronic form on certification and design.

our website and as printed handouts at our outreach 28 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013 events. Their subject matter will be the focus of our certain data. The pilot study would enable us to see if outreach presentations at Sun ‘n Fun, AirVenture, it’s feasible for us to collect the data throughout the and others. Like previous Safety Alerts, these will course of our investigations.

highlight a few related accidents, provide tips for Do you have any particular advice to share pilots, and direct them toward educational resources for anyone reading this?

that provide more information.

There are a few things that come to mind What about those pilots who might not typi- immediately. First, get some recurrent instruction, cally attend safety educational events?

preferably each year. Make your Flight Review more Any time there is a fatal GA accident, the local challenging by getting instruction on what you know community is greatly affected, and suddenly, over you don’t do well, rather than choosing items that the following days, there is a very intense, localized are easy or that you know you can perform well.

interest in aviation safety. Many at the FBO, on the Second, develop a sense of your personal mini- ramp, and in the neighborhoods want to talk about mums, whether it be VFR or IFR, that you fly most.

it. We’d like to reach out to those communities who Know your limitations. Finally, before every flight are suddenly paying attention. We’d like to a deliver identify those things that could pose a threat to your timely, pertinent outreach presentation that not only flight in some way. Think about how you would explains to them the basic investigation process and handle each of the potential threats so that should what to expect, but also delivers pertinent aviation you encounter any of them, you will be prepared.

safety information.

Tom Hoffmann is the managing editor of the F aa Safety Briefing . He is a Are there any changes in store for data col- commercial pilot and holds an A&P certificate.

lection and/or analysis?

During our 2012 GA Safety Forum, the Board openly asked industry for suggestions on how we Learn More could improve our data collection. Based on what NTSB’s Top 10 Most Wanted List we learned, we decided that we should expand that www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl.html a bit and host a separate, informal listening session NTSB Aviation Accident Reports with industry to learn more about what kind of data www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_aviation.html they would like to see us collect — and what kind of Personal Minimums Checklist beneficial analysis could be performed if we did col- http://go.usa.gov/4XF v lect it. Depending on what we learn, we may be able to launch a one-year pilot study to begin collecting

Subscribe Today!

FAA Safety Briefing is available as an annual

subscription from the Government Printing

Office. There are three ways to sign up today!

• By Internet at: • Sign up for email updates http://go.usa.gov/4FSQ at: www.faa.gov/news/ safety_briefing/ • By contacting GPO toll free at: 1-866-512-1800

Vertically Speaking l e e r oskop

What’s Trending with Rotorcraft Safety?

The trend in U.S. rotorcraft accidents in 2012 combined total of accidents in EMS, air tours, and reinforced the message that the International Heli- offshore industry sectors was less than half of the copter Safety Team (IHST), the government, and the number of accidents from personal/private opera- rotorcraft industry groups have communicated for tions alone.

years; that is, too many helicopter accidents occur The positive news is that the helicopters we fly, in three industry sectors: personal/private, instruc- regardless of the manufacturer, continue to perform tional/training, and aerial application. remarkably well. In 2012, accidents were rarely These three sectors accounted for more than caused by the failure of a rotorcraft system or part.

half of the 39 fatalities and about 60 percent of the This fact is consistent with IHST observations during 148 total U.S.-registered rotorcraft accidents in the past decade.

2012, far outdistancing the number of accidents Unfortunately, this just reaffirms the uncomfort- that occurred in other sectors. In raw numbers, 21 able reality that lapses in judgment and decision- people lost their lives among the 89 accidents in making by pilots lead to most accidents. Examples these three sectors last year. of such lapses in 2012 included: selecting flight This trend is not new. IHST’s analysis of U.S. rotor- profiles at altitudes below what was necessary (typi- craft accidents in 2000, 2001, and 2006 collectively cally below 100 feet AGL); exceeding the aircraft points to personal/private, instructional/training, and performance envelope by operating the aircraft over aerial application as the industry sectors responsible published weight limits; landing with a tailwind for the highest numbers of U.S. rotorcraft accidents. resulting in loss of control; inadequate power margin Perhaps more disturbing is that the FAA esti- during high density altitude operations; and electing mates that these three sectors account for a low to proceed VFR into weather that was predominantly percentage of the overall U.S. rotorcraft hours flown. instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

That equates to an accident rate per hour flown being Outreach Outlook much higher than that of other industry sectors.

IHST, a government-industry led organization, Message Received?

has reached out to combat this trend through news The accident trend continues even though IHST, releases and other communications to industry trade the FAA, other government groups, and the rotorcraft magazines, helicopter websites, and social media industry have reinforced the message that pilots and platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.

operators need to take steps to ensure safer flights. This leads to inevitable questions. If the message IHST has provided detailed safety recommendations is out there, are the right people reading it? And if and policies, pilot safety checklists, accident statistics they are reading it, is any meaningful change occur- and information, and alerts about accident trends. ring as to how they fly helicopters? The high accident Photo courtesy of IHST For some, a per- numbers in these industry sectors suggest that efforts ception may exist that made to date just have not had enough of an impact.

helicopters working How can we make 2013 better for these industry in emergency medical sectors? How can we reach more individual opera- services (EMS), air tours, tors to make sure they get to share another birthday, and offshore operations anniversary, or vacation with their loved ones? The are responsible for the data and analysis from 2012 paint a clear picture of most accidents. That the problem. But if nothing changes, it is just another perception is under- year worth of numbers.

standable because of the media interest and Lee Roskop, a former U.S. Air Force officer and UH-1 helicopter pilot, works public scrutiny those as an operations research analyst in the FAA Rotorcraft Directorate. He also industries often receive has worked as an instructor and evaluator pilot at Air Force helicopter pilot when an accident training schools and has worked in Bell Helicopter’s flight safety department.

occurs. Yet, in 2012, the Members of IHST’s Executive Committee 30 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013

Flight Forum

Great Job! Loving the E-Reader Option!

I want to say how great a job you are doing Opening the .epub file in iBooks was easy and at the helm (yoke really) in making the technical worked flawlessly. Thanks for the great idea and journal information stuff readable, informative and good work!

not stuffy or too authoritarian for us independent — David minded pilots!

We appreciate the feedback and are glad it — R. C.

worked so well for you. Happy reading!

We are glad you find the magazine useful. Our Bahamas Requirements team includes pilots and aviation junkies; we try very hard to be both relevant and interesting. Nice to hear I was reading the Nov/Dec 2012 issue of your that we’ve hit the mark! great magazine when I came across what I suspect may be an error. On page 18 you list the requirements Subtle Differences for sport pilots to fly to the Bahamas. While I don’t Thanks for an excellent article on the ICAO know where to find the primary source for these phonetic alphabet. Most people are not aware that requirements, you list, “A log book endorsement our ICAO alphabet was created by the International certifying the pilot is authorized to perform cross Telecommunications Union in the early 1950s. It country flights.” No such thing exists for sport pilots was developed by a panel of linguists to be readily under the FARs or AC 61-65E. Such a requirement usable in most modern languages. One little known only applies to student pilots and recreational pilots, feature is the spelling of Alfa which is almost always not sport pilots. Thanks again for another great issue.

commonly misspelled as “alpha,” and Juliett , not — Helen “Juliet.” The reason behind this is because if you ask Thanks for your comments on the magazine.

a Frenchman or German to pronounce “alpha,” he Concerning your question about requirements for or she will say “alp-ha.” In French, “Juliet” would sport pilots flying to Bahamas: Although it wasn’t be enunciated “joo-ee-ay.” Not useful for distinct indicated, the sentence in regard to having a logbook clarity at all! Thanks again for the good work.

endorsement for cross country is intended specifically — H. R.

for student pilots. Anyone with a sport pilot certificate Thanks for the feedback and the additional would have already had this endorsement. In information. Linguistics and communications are hindsight, we probably should have added the words really fascinating! student pilot next to that sentence to make it clearer.

Flying Blind?

FAA Safety Briefing welcomes comments. We may edit letters for style and/ I just learned that they are planning to base a or length. i f we have more than one letter on a topic, we will select a repre- company that will build UAVs at my home base of sentative letter to publish. Because of publishing schedule, responses may (Ormond Beach) KOMN. KOMN is a very busy train- not appear for several issues. While we do not print anonymous letters, we ing airport with lots of traffic and non-native English will withhold names or send personal replies speaking pilots. I can’t help but think this will be a upon request. i f you have a concern with an very dangerous mix of air traffic. Plus, I haven’t seen immediate F aa operational issue, contact any guidance on how UAVs are supposed to be inte- your local Flight Standards District o ffice or grated into the “see and avoid” concept.

air traffic facility. Send letters to: e ditor, FAA — Ed Safety Briefing , a FS-805, 800 i ndependence a venue, SW, Washington, D c 20591, or email As you may know, there is a lot of interest in SafetyBriefing@faa.gov .

expanding the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System. The FAA is working on overall plans for safe integration of UASs Let us hear from you — comments, suggestions, into the NAS. In the meantime, please contact your and questions: email SafetyBriefing@faa.gov or local FSDO to discuss issues and concerns specific to use a smartphone QR reader to go “VFR-direct” to our mailbox.

your airport.

March/ a pril 2013 FAA Safety Briefing 31

Postflight s us A n pA r son

Now What, Batman?

I know I am dating myself with this one, but here are three ways to avoid becoming lunch for sky maybe you remember seeing at least a few late sharks with an appetite for pilot error.

night reruns of the hokey 1960s Batman television Rule #1: Stay out of shark-infested areas . Avia- series? I’m talking about the one with Adam West in tors too often get in trouble simply by flying into the the title role and Burt Ward as the ever-loyal Robin.

wrong space, the wrong place, and/or in the wrong Whenever the Dynamic Duo got into a scrape — weather. Avoiding sky sharks can be as simple as and the series could exist only because that hap- staying out of their territory. Check the aeronautical pened at least once an episode — Robin would charts to steer clear of the wrong spaces and places, pause, look at his mentor, and utter a line that has and check the weather charts to avoid becoming long since crossed into popular parlance: “ Now prey to those that lurk in the murk.

what , Batman?” Rule #2: Don’t throw chum . One of the core Now you might be wondering what, aside from tenets of error management is to design hardware, the bat-winged cape and wing-like fins on the Bat- systems, and procedures to eliminate the obvious mobile, could the 1960s-vintage Batman series have sources of error. This approach goes a long way to do with aviation? Well, I don’t know about you, toward keeping sky sharks at bay ... unless the pilot but I have mentally muttered Robin’s line to myself throws chum by disabling protective systems (think: at least a time or two when I’ve been caught in avia- landing gear circuit breaker) or willfully disregarding tion situations that I didn’t plan or expect. And, to rules and safety procedures.

use the lexicon of those who study human error, some of those situations could have developed into Rule #3: Take TEM (yes, that’s an “M”). A military “undesired events” unless I promptly found a good officer I know evaluates subordinates not on the answer to the “now what, Batman?” query.

basis of error-free performance, but rather on how As befits a superhero, the caped crusader always they manage the mistakes they inevitably make. Life had a ready response. Among my favorite chuckle- evaluates aviators in a similar way. That’s where the worthy episodes (well before Fonzie’s infamous discipline of threat and error management (TEM) “jumping the shark” stunt on the Happy Days series) comes in. Recognizing that it is impossible to com- was the one in which we see a remarkably dry pletely eliminate human error, TEM focuses on error dynamic duo riding surf boards. John Williams had recognition, mitigation, and recovery.

not yet composed his thumping bass “DUH-dah” So if you’ve blundered into sky shark-infested theme that heralds the great white’s appearances on territory and/or compounded the problem with Jaws , but still you can almost hear it when Batman error chum, TEM is the sky shark-repelling answer and Robin are suddenly surrounded by shark fins.

to your “now what, Batman?” question. The sooner “Holy Hexanchiform ! Now what, Batman?!” you admit that sky sharks are nigh (recognition), the I love this next bit. Batman calmly opens his more time you have to execute your escape (mitiga- cape and whips out a conveniently stashed can of tion) and promptly tend to any sky shark-inflicted “Bat Shark Repellent,” — never leave home without wounds (recovery). Don’t leave home without it.

it — and the finned fiends flee after just one aerosol- propelled “pfft” from the can. Rock on, Batman!

Susan Parson (susan.parson@faa.gov, or @avi8rix for Twitter fans) is editor Repelling the Sky Sharks of F aa Safety Briefing . She is an active general aviation pilot and flight There have certainly been times when, sur- instructor.

rounded by saw-toothed sky sharks attracted by the chum of my own errors, I have wished I could just pull a spray can of “sky shark repellent” from my otherwise well-stocked flight bag. Until such a substance is invented, though, I have to rely on other tools and rules. With apologies to the Ph.Ds. for my admittedly unorthodox take on error management, 32 FAA Safety Briefing March/ a pril 2013

pau l c i a n c i o l o

FAA Faces

Guy Minor

National FAASTeam Program Manager, Western-Pacific Region

“My passion is human error and just culture. I speak and write from the point of view of a mechanic addressing human factors issues as opposed to a psychologist addressing aviation issues.” Minor helps aviators embrace the concept that humans do make mistakes, which is not a matter of morality or even impaired capacity. The unforgiving Photo courtesy of Guy Minor nature of flying itself is what makes those mistakes so dangerous. The good news, he explains, is that we can manage the industry to be more forgiving of human error.

The biggest challenge to the FAASTeam is the old idea that people make mistakes because they are deficient of experience, training, character or some other personal resource, which breeds well-meaning attempts to provide more technical training.

“This is what got us to where we are now, but to improve we must start working within the system to Growing up in California during the early years reduce the pressure aviators feel to make mistakes and of the Space Race put the excitement of aviation violate rules. … A new idea would be to use the tools front and center for Guy Minor. So to earn money for provided by the FAASTeam to influence organizations.” flying lessons, he worked with his father maintaining The FAASTeam’s mission is to improve the equipment for a local apple farmer. This also taught nation’s aviation safety record by conveying safety Minor how to be a mechanic.

principles and practices through training, outreach, “I view myself as an aircraft mechanic. While still and education. And FAASTeam managers establish in high school, my first aviation job was an aviation meaningful aviation industry alliances to encourage mechanic’s apprentice at a local FBO. During this continual growth of a positive safety culture within time, among other things like sweeping the floor, the aviation community.

my employer tasked me to salvage crashed aircraft, “With industry managers in control of the which exposed me to the stark reality that aviation is organizational conditions influencing unsafe acts, it very unforgiving of human error,” said Minor.

would be helpful for aviators in all leadership posi- He later spent six years in the Navy as an elec- tions to possess a management skill set that would tronics technician onboard the USS Snook — a ultimately support a positive safety culture.” nuclear powered fast-attack submarine. And prior It is not easy to reach the individual pilot who to joining the FAA in 1995, Minor worked 10 years may walk from his car to his airplane and take off in the maintenance department at Navajo Aviation.

without benefit of flight planning, weather briefing, There he received an Inspection Authorization and or air traffic control. There are those who fly this way.

became the repair station’s chief inspector.

“It is still not easy, but perhaps more rational Now, as an aviation safety inspector, Minor pro- to reach individuals by reaching the FBO or flight motes aviation safety by disseminating information school that provides instruction, maintenance, fuel to the aviation community about risk management, and other services.” system safety, and new technology concepts through Go to FAASafety.gov to learn more about the the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) He supports the resources available through the FAASTeam.

branch by providing human error and positive safety culture material, and serves as an adjunct instructor at the Transportation Safety Institute in Oklahoma Paul Cianciolo is an assistant editor and the social media lead for FAA Safety City teaching the Experimental Aircraft Accident Briefing . He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, and a rated aircrew member and Investigation course. search and rescue team leader with the Civil Air Patrol.

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20591 FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 faa.gov/news/safety_briefing

faa.gov/news/safety_briefing @FAASafetyBrief

Look Who’s Reading

FAA Safety Briefing

“I like to stay ‘briefed’ on safety

and professionalism. That’s why I

read FAA Safety Briefing. ”

Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.

- Maj. Caroline Jensen, right wing pilot

for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds