Professionalism - from Engine Start to Shutdown

Editorial Comment

Decades ago – several more than I care toremember – I had a primary flying instructor who was fond of saying “Don’t stop‘flying’ the airplane until you switch off the engine and tie it to theground.”

Some will instinctively know that such acomment suggests tail-dragger operations and I was indeed fortunate to obtainearly instruction in classic airplanes. Taxiing properly, especially in gustywind conditions, and the inherent ground looping tendency of the type demandsthat care and vigilance be exercised to a significantly greater extent than aconventional tricycle gear aircraft, particularly in takeoff and landing.

With quality instruction, the trainingbenefits of classic aircraft are significant, however, particularly when the earlytraining environment also includes the complexities of a towered airport, and mixedgeneral aviation and commercial transport operations. I remember this time for itsrapid and deep learning, which stimulated heightened awareness and vigilance, andprovided a solid foundation to accompany the plethora of reading prescribed bymy instructor, including the iconic “Stickand Rudder” by Wolfgang Langewiesche, first published in 1944!

I often think of this early training when Iread about runway incursions. I hear again that instructor insisting that wewere “flying” as long as we were moving. “Head up, eyes outside, andcommunicate no less carefully and clearly with the ground controller as you dowith tower.” Wise words, since incident and accidents on the ground are morelikely than in the air, given all the varied players and moving parts. In fact,the FAA states that there were almost 1,800 total runway incursions in 2017 andinvestigations revealed that two-thirds were caused by pilots.

Those investigations underscored the threemajor areas contributing to incursions, including failure to comply with ATCinstructions, lack of airport familiarity, and nonconformance with standardoperating procedures. Maintaining clear and concise pilot-controllercommunications is fundamental to safe airport surface operations, and Englishlanguage proficiency is critical.

Miscommunication, or sometimes nocommunication at all, happens too frequently. Poorly designed airport layoutscan add to the hazards, and sometimes busy radio frequencies mean thattransmissions are “stepped on”. Standard procedures are there for a reason;pilots must read back their instructions to confirm they are understood andthat they are intended for their aircraft and not another. Incidents and risksare enormously varied, and compound quickly at non-towered airports where approachand ground operations are not directed, and thus rely solely on pilots andground vehicles communicating on an “as required” basis and in accordance withaccepted convention.

The importance of verifying “hold short”instructions is of course critical, but other common issues include incorrectrunway/taxiway crossing, incorrect spacing between departing and arrivingaircraft, incorrect entry or exit of an aircraft/vehicle onto the runwayprotection area, and even takeoff without an ATC clearance. Throw in the factthat pilots taxiing sometimes do not actually ask Controllers for help whenthere is confusion, as they can be caught up in checklists, and non-essentialchatter with the FO.

An airport undergoing redevelopment orrunway re-surfacing adds to incursion potential. A closed taxiway may mean thataircraft need to use runways to get to another open taxiway, and closedtaxiways can also result in aircraft needing to backtrack on the runway in use.

One of the most distressing runwayincursion accidents happened in 1996 in Quincy, Illinois, which is anon-towered airport using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF).Miscommunication between a landing Beech 1900 and a departing King Air and athird aircraft, became deadly when the King Air’s pilot failed to look fortraffic and the 1900’s crew mistakenly assumed a radio transmission confirmedthey were okay to land. Both aircraft collided on the intersecting runways andsome 12 people tragically lost their lives.

The importance of clear and concisecommunications and extreme vigilance cannot be overstated, and it is encouragingto see the application of technology to mitigate some of the risks. At some ofthe largest international airports the use of ground surveillance radar addsgreatly to the safety equation. And in flight training we’ve seen Simulated AirTraffic Control Environment (SATCE) technologies being incorporated into thefull flight simulator. Nothing, however, can replace vigilance, clearcommunications and an attitude that “flying” the airplane begins as soon asengines are started and does not stop until they are shut down.

Safe travels, Chris Lehman, CAT Editor in Chief

Published in CAT issue 6/2018