The Best Lessons
Anyone who has been flying for a while has had an experience that makes them think about training, experience and process. I have had two such experiences recently that reminded me of how true that is; how important training is; and how useless training is if we do not act upon our training to implement corrective actions.
I am an avid participant in aviation training and owner / operator events. In addition to a couple of NBAA conferences, I try to participate in the owner associations for those aircraft in which I am type-rated.
For the past several years, one of the primary topics of discussion has been the stabilized approach and how important it is to the successful and safe approach and landing. There have been an increasing number of incidents and accidents related to the approach and landing phase of flight, including runway excursions, and almost all of those can be traced to an unstable approach. This is not just an issue that plagues owner operator pilots, but several of the incursions have involved professional crews, as well.
The first incident that I experienced was on a professional charter trip with a passenger in the back that had an important meeting with someone in the Presidential administration. The destination airport was a small field with a runway that was reasonably long for a safe landing, but a bit narrow and definitely did not leave a lot of room for error. As luck would have it, there was a large system moving across the region, to include our destination airport. My colleague and I had briefed the options and decided to attempt the approach into our destination, but we had the option of flying about five minutes away to a much larger airport with a much longer and wider runway. At our destination, the wind was a cross wind, but at the alternate, the wind was straight up and down the runway.
Our descent was through moderate rain, but we were able to get around the worst of the weather and decided to attempt the approach. During the approach, the rain was still moderate, but I could see the runway at about three miles out. There was a very significant cross wind at 90 degrees from the left, which meant our ground speed would be higher, but we were tracking inbound and continued. At about two miles out, the rain got harder and we lost sight of the runway environment. I said to my colleague that I was not comfortable and to let the tower know we were going missed. We executed the missed approach, were given radar vectors and were switched to approach control. I asked my SIC to advise ATC that we would like to divert to the alternate. The conditions just were not conducive to a safe approach and landing at the original destination. I knew it would be inconvenient to our guest, but it really was the safest option. We advised him of the situation and while disappointed, he understood. He contacted the driver that was waiting for him and asked him to go to the other airport, about a fifteen minute drive away. Once on the ground, we had the chance to debrief and to speak with the client. My SIC told me that he was relieved when I made the decision to break off the approach, especially after he lost visual contact. The client was very gracious and said that he was happy that we made the safe decision and that the inconvenience was minor. While I didn’t really doubt my decision, it was really great that both my SIC and the client were supportive of it.
The second event occurred only a week or so ago and was a very different situation. I was flying my own plane to see my son and there were pop up cells all over the destination area, but I was able to avoid most of the weather on the descent. In fact, there was a cell of light to moderate rain just west of the airport, but I could see the runway and accepted the visual approach. The approach went fine until about two mile final when the light rain became a little bit harder. My visibility decreased, but I could still make out the runway environment, so I continued. However, as I got inside a mile, the rain became moderate, visibility decreased and at about ½ mile, I could no longer make out the runway. I had already told myself that I needed to prepare for a go-around and as soon as I lost visibility, I executed the missed, advised tower. After some discussion, Tower sent me to Approach Control and I shot the instrument approach in. This time, while still raining and while visibility was not great, I could make out the runway and the centerline so I was able to land and stop with lots of runway to spare.
Both of these experiences really caused me to think about the aviation decision making that we all do every time we fly. I was extremely grateful for the decision that I made in both those instances. While they may have worked out if I had proceeded, they also may not have. Indeed, I am certain that every aviator that has experienced an approach and landing incident believed that they had the situation under control and that it would work out; until it did not. It also caused me to think about some of the landings I had made which may have had some level of an unstable approach, but in which I continued and landed safetly. Even though it worked out, I had other options and did not elect those options.
I am a firm believer that the safest and most successful flight departments, aircraft owners and pilots are those that treat the gift of operating an aircraft as complete professionals, whether the use is business or personal. It was that passion that caused me to start WingLeader! I wanted to bring the safety, operational efficiency and support that the largest flight departments have to even the smallest operators in a cost effective way.
When we train, we specifically train for balked landings and missed approaches. Yet, somehow, when we get into actual dispatch flying and flying trips, our desire to complete the mission occasionally overwhelms our training and we push forward when the right answer is to avoid the risk and execute Plan B. I believe that is when procedures, process and access to risk management can help us as aviators to make the safe decision.
When we have the appropriate training we know how to fundamentally execute all of the procedures that we need to execute, but we still need help to figure out when to execute those procedures. Constant awareness of the risks around you and a perpetual assessment of the options is a great way to do that. But setting up a risk management program, procedures and processes that make the pilot’s decision automatic is even better. I am truly grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn the value of flight department structure and operational procedures during my career and I know that it has made me a safer pilot.
If you value the importance of a structured flight department, dispatch, scheduling, risk management, crew qualification tracking and trip support, all delivered in a concierge style, please contact WingLeader to learn more.