How Safety Focused Are You

[201er]

Be honest, how safety focused are you? Of course most of us like to think that we are, but try to identify areas where you are either taking a known risk, oblivious, or have an invulnerable attitude.

 

I find myself to be careful but occasionally identify lapses of judgement or things I should have done better. My cautiousness as a pilot has been jumping around as I gain experience in certain fields. First the capability goes up, then the boldness follows, then reality strikes, then excessive cautiousness follows, and then experience is actually gained, and the cycle continues. This cycle is on an item by item basis with many different aspects of flying. Usually the worst trouble I've gotten into in any case is realizing afterwards that my safety margin had gone to nill, not that I was already in trouble. Just that if I did have a problem, there would have been no way or close to no way out.

 

In general I find myself in the second tier of safety mindedness. I try to do better but occasionally I forget little things. Before you holler at me to use the checklist, sometimes forgetting little things means forgetting to use the checklist. For example on a recent flight into KPNE there was a skyhawk on final ahead of me and tower did an awful job sequencing me in close behind so I had to do S turns. The skyhawk landed and was taking his sweetass time taxiing down the runway and not pulling off so I went into slow flight to try to buy more time and land long. This was becoming too much so I decided to go around (don't remember the last time I had to go around). The plane started to climb but it wasn't great when I realized I forgot to advance the mixture/prop on final. I was so busy focusing on the plane on the runway and slowing down for it, that I forgot to do GUMPS. I didn't forget to put the gear down though!

[co2bruce]

I, like most have made my share of mistakes after 25 years. My goal is to learn from them and never allow myself to repeat them.

[Hank]

I try to maintain a focus on safety. I do realize, however, that the checklist is a "check" list and not a "do" list. The Pre-Landing and Landing checklists are the same whether I'm going into my non-towered, 3000' home field over the trees, or if I'm cleared for a visual approach following the RJ on downwind 4 miles out from the 10,000 Class C field like last weekend. What I have to do is different in each case. But my checklist lives on my kneeboard, strapped to my left leg, and I almost always have the destination airport diagram on the kneeboard too. I even use both of them.

 

[Note:  when you are vectored downwind 4 nm out and cleared to follow the jet ahead of you, B727s and MD11s are much easier to see than RJs!]

 

I have not made this type of approach often enough to have an SOP about when to turn base, when to slow to flap speed, when to drop gear. If memory serves, the 2-minute wake turbulence waiting period ended when I was 2.0 nm out on final, approach flaps, gear down, 100 mph indicated, 2 red/2 white VASI. I still landed long on purpose, because I'd rather cover that first 1000-1500' at 70 mph than at taxi speed.

 

Weather forecasts are what cause me the most grief, debating fly/drive/cancel. Last weekend the forecasts for both ways [southeast on Saturday, return on Sunday] was for moderate turbulence below 10,000; going down was freezing level 6000 with clouds and precip, MEAs 6800 and up; coming back was 4500 broken with southerly winds gusting into the mid-20's [runway at home is 8/26, with optional 12/30 nearby]. NOAA radar looked good, so I had a smooth ride through 48ºF clear blue skies with a screaming tailwind [~25 knots] going out, and a smooth ride through clear blue skies with ground speed = book speed coming home, landing in calm winds under a scattered layer much higher than my 8000 msl cruising altitude.

 

Since FSS added the details that there were no relevant PIREPS along my route, I gave one just past the midpoint going each direction to help other pilots make their own decisions. After all, "clear, smooth and warm" were unforecast conditions!

 

I do not plan to fly hard IFR, but I recognize that forecasts are wrong, and can be better or worse than actual. So I try to stay proficient enough to take actual conditions, and exceed the minimum legal requirements for currency. Just before this trip, not having flown in actual since October, I grabbed an instrument-rated safety pilot and flew some maneuvers and one approach under the hood, because I would rather mess up with him in VFR conditions than with my non-anything-rated wife beside me in the clouds.

[Alan Fox]

I did some really stupid shit early on in my flying......  I am very lucky I didnt kill myself ,   strike that EXTREMELY lucky.........  I remind myself of this everytime I fly.....

[AndyFromCB]

I did some really stupid shit early on in my flying......  I am very lucky I didnt kill myself ,   strike that EXTREMELY lucky.........  I remind myself of this everytime I fly.....

 

Me too,  never again, had to clean corn out a cherokee's landing gear

[Alan Fox]

I know of some idiot (guess who) who descended through 11000 feet of solid imc , broke out at 800 agl , scudded to an airport , and put 47 gallons in a cherokee 140....... Back in the 90s....

[Seth]

Mike-

 

Great topic - I find myself in a similar safty ranking as you - second from the top. 

 

I know I have an issue with "get-there-itis" and completing the mission, but I've also learned to throw in the towl and often use the go/no go decision wisely.  i try to always have an out (even if it means an off aiport landing to avoid flying through really bad weather - which I've never done is but is toward the bottom of the list but a real optio nif needed).

 

I'm still learning to deal with the "get-there-itis" and am considerably better than I used to be.  Also, IFR minimums wise - if I have't flown an approach in a while, I'm not going to IFR minimums but to my personal minimums, if it's my home field and I've flown the same approach dozens of times, I may take that to minimums more cofortably.  If I've been flying a lot of IFR and a lot of approaches recently, my minimums do indeed lower usually to the published minimums.  Always be ready for the missed approach.

 

I do not take off into 0/0 conditions.  I do not have a probelm flying through rain and around convective activity, but I do not rely on WX to split cells, I will avoid the storms by a wide berth.

 

Checklists wise - I do use checklists but when you fly your airplane at times you'll run through a flow - bad habbit, I know, hence the reason I picked the second to the top.  I have recently moved all my checklist to the ipad I use for charts.  I have that plus my paper backups.  I use both during the flights.

 

However, I always try to remember to do GUMPS 3 times downwind, base, final, and 3 green over the fence.  Even if I'm in a non-retract aircraft just to stay in the habit.

 

There are four instances I was scared when flying - I've learned a lot, but those four instances have taught me the most.

 

-Seth

 

 

-Seth

[AmigOne]

42 years flying I've done my share of stuff I should not have done but I do not recall ever knowingly putting other people's life in danger.  In other words mostly while flying alone.   

[Marauder]

Great topic Mike. I live by the 3 Cs. Currency - the obvious legal requirement to be current for the flight I am taking on. Competency - Even though I may be legal based on currency, does that mean I am competent to do the trip? This is a self evaluation of my ability to handle what is tossed in front of me (first time in the mountains, expected IMC conditions lower than I have flown before). Confidence - Is my plane up to snuff? All the squaks taken care of? Is the weather I am taking on going to stay that way? Am I feeling good? I've lost friends because they pushed it, didn't keep their plane maintained or had an attitude that "it's going to happen to the other guy". I can't remember which women aviator said this, but I love the line: "I don't want it to be said I died doing what I loved doing". Me too! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[201er]

I know of some idiot (guess who) who descended through 11000 feet of solid imc , broke out at 800 agl , scudded to an airport , and put 47 gallons in a cherokee 140....... Back in the 90s....

Shoulda shut your engine at the top of the hill and coasted in

[Joe Zuffoletto]

I know of some idiot (guess who) who descended through 11000 feet of solid imc , broke out at 800 agl , scudded to an airport , and put 47 gallons in a cherokee 140....... Back in the 90s....

 

Yes, I once put 72 gallons in my Encore after running one tank dry on short final. Made the mistake of believing my brand new fuel totalizer and not my watch. I've done a few dumb things in my 27 years of flying, but that one haunts me the most. NEVER AGAIN.

[N201MKTurbo]

I always find it funny that the only thing people talk about with regard to IFR flying is flying an approach to minimums. every IFR pilot should be able to do that. the real scary stuff is what is lurking out in those clouds, icing, embedded thunderstorms, severe turbulance while IMC, those things will kill you.

[jetdriven]

I know of some idiot (guess who) who descended through 11000 feet of solid imc , broke out at 800 agl , scudded to an airport , and put 47 gallons in a cherokee 140....... Back in the 90s....

 

I know of a guy who deadsticked his Baron onto a 2-lane country road in west Texas after running it out of gas one night.  He filled her up then blasted off.  He killed himself a year later. Took 2 friends with him.

[Alan Fox]

I always find it funny that the only thing people talk about with regard to IFR flying is flying an approach to minimums. every IFR pilot should be able to do that. the real scary stuff is what is lurking out in those clouds, icing, embedded thunderstorms, severe turbulance while IMC, those things will kill you.

I should have been more specific ... No instrument rating.....

[AndyFromCB]

I always find it funny that the only thing people talk about with regard to IFR flying is flying an approach to minimums. every IFR pilot should be able to do that. the real scary stuff is what is lurking out in those clouds, icing, embedded thunderstorms, severe turbulance while IMC, those things will kill you.

I'm perfectly capable of approaches down to minimums, do them all the time in training under the hood and a few times at my home airport in actual. However, when I fly cross country I refuse to fly if my departure or destination and/or surrounding area are below 800/2. One rusty engine, one rusty pilot ;-) I can afford to wait, usually never more than 4 hours for things to clear up.

 

Icing doesn't scare me with TKS and turbo but I will not land or take off into frontal conditions which more or less eliminates SLD. TKS is almost to effective.

 

Thunderstorms, I trust my stormscopes and eyeballs to keep me well clear of anything out there over NEXRAD anyday.

[Hank]

I do my best to not fly IMC with embedded T-storms; getting above the murk so I can see and go around them isn't too bad if they're far enough apart [and downwind!]. The Stormscope can be very valuable, but it's so much nicer flying when it stays dark.

 

Icing is something that I avoid by flying IMC below the icing level, deviating around high terrain and/or staying on the ground. Came home to WV from NC once through Greenville SC, Knoxville TN and Lexington KY to get around icing pireps in southern WV where MEAs for my route would have been 6800 or higher; I've also waited until the  next day, cost my wife & I each an unplanned Monday away from work, but at least we can still go to work, flying a C model in icing conditions will prevent that . . . . Pitot heat and Defrost don't do nothing for the wing, tail or prop.

 

As for minimums, I do not plan to fly where forecast is for minimums. Weather changes over time, sometimes improving, sometimes worsening. I want to give it time to worsen while enroute and still be able to land. All of my practice approaches are to minimums, but I also spend foggle time "just flying" to keep my head sharp. Climbs, descents, turns, turning climbs, etc. It can be difficult resisting what your head/body are telling you just after leveling off in the clouds, so I think aircraft control is as important as following the needles. I've spent much more time trolling along in the clouds than I have from the IAP to DA/DH/breakout combined.

[RJBrown]

Icing is something that I avoid by flying IMC below the icing level,

Interesting perspective. The icing level here is often below the 5880 field elevation. With the Rocket I always preferred to fly far Above the icing level. In the clouds at minus 20 c there isn't much ice.

[wishboneash]

I have taken on low IMC (Central Valley of CA where ground fog makes an ILS useless), strong X-winds and some moderate turbulence. Icing, never. Due to terrain in California, I am not about to tempt climbing into areas where temps and clouds can mean icing with no way out. 

[Hank]

Interesting perspective. The icing level here is often below the 5880 field elevation. With the Rocket I always preferred to fly far Above the icing level. In the clouds at minus 20 c there isn't much ice.

 

My C won't power through the icing level to reach clear air above. Coming through WV at 7-9K, there's not much choice if the freezing level is 6000. It is sometimes possible to attempt VFR below that, but I have to go the full length and width of the state, and I'm not really into dodging terrain, antennas and precip all at once. Over is great IFF I can reach "over" and have a route down again, otherwise I go around or stay on the ground. Ice is neither friendly nor forgiving to our non-FIKI birds.

 

P.S.--my home field is 567 msl on the river bank, the nearby Class D is 828 msl because it's up on a small ridge. VFR sectionals generally show clearance altitudes in southern WV in the 4500-5300 range, and MEAs are generally 6800 and up. I carefully plotted one path home with MEAs at 6200 or less except for ~50 nm going past BLF VOR, where interestingly enough there was a Pirep for icing from a Diamond/Cirrus [i forget] at 7500'. I flew the next day instead.

[jlunseth]

Down to minimums is not a big deal to me, it is where and when you are willing to fly an approach to minimums.  Through a blanket layer in the middle of the summer over the midwest is not a big deal.  In thunderstorms, or worse yet in thunderstorms and mountains is a different deal entirely.  I have done one of each of those and as bad as it sounds, they were benign (not severe turbulence).  But I would not plan a trip with that kind of approach as part of the plan.  They can happen because of unforecast conditions at the airport of intended landing at the end of a long cross country. 

[WardHolbrook]

I've made my living in the cockpit since 1975 so I my working airplane, there's not very much that will stop us from getting to where we need to be, However, in order to do that, you've got to be a "by the book" kind of guy, otherwise - sooner or later - you're going to get bit. The one thing I've learned over the years is that there is absolutely no advantage to putting off or skimping on maintenance, fudging minimums, or turning a blind eye to things like weight and balance or other stuff like that. If you do stupid stuff in airplanes you might be able to get a way with it - maybe even for quite a while, but soon or later you will get bit.

[Hank]

I agree, Ward. Most weeks we lose another cheater, don't we? Some CFIT, some loss of control, VFR into IMC, spatial disorientation, you name it.

 

Fly fast. Fly safe.

[Ned Gravel]

Not keen on the "meticulous" question.  I get a wx briefing before every flight and make use of a checklist, but I do not agree that every rule is law.  Some rules do not pass the sniff test (like taking off the tie down rings before every flight or shock cooling or no LOP ops). 

 

The second option, about skipping things, is a recipe for disaster (like forgetting to dip the tanks during the walkaround).  Not on my watch.

 

The third one sums it up best for me.  But somehow "being careful" is tantamount to skipping some things and not getting a wx briefing every time I fly. 

 

Maybe it's just me.....