CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1 - 17

CFI TIPS
SOME PEOPLE LIKE SURPRISES, BUT I'VE NEVER
BEEN ONE OF THEM. I'm a planner, and when

it comes to being prepared, I like to think
through worst-case scenarios and how I would
handle each one. To me, that's time well spent.
Considering what to do when things go wrong
is especially useful for pilots, because in-flight
incidents can quickly become emergencies and
the consequences are severe.

It's possible for experienced pilots-especially
those who have been fortunate enough to avoid
emergency situations-to get out of the habit of
thinking ahead, and this leads to complacency.
When I start to feel too comfortable in an
airplane, that's when I worry and tell myself to
snap out of it and go back to preparing for the
event that may never happen. As CFIs, we have
the privilege of teaching new pilots and helping
them to form potentially life-saving habits.
Encourage your students early on by asking them
at regular intervals throughout each flight, where
they would land if an emergency occurred. As
they gain experience, expand that thinking by
introducing more complicated scenarios to test
their planning and judgment.

Ideally, when planning ahead, you should
consider two solutions-a Plan B and a Plan C.
It's likely that you'll never need the Plan C, but
it's reassuring to have that in your back pocket.
As you teach this to your students, there are
plenty of published case studies you could use,
or perhaps you have personal experience you can
draw from. That lends credibility to the lesson
and it's instructive for the student to hear a firstperson perspective on the thought process. This
is especially powerful if you made mistakes that
you learned from; why not help others learn from
them also. Can you think of one flight when you
demonstrated a lack of preparation? Could you
have anticipated the issue and, if so, mitigated
the risk through more thorough planning?

the airplane and then departed for our return
trip. You may notice a step missing here; I didn't
obtain a weather briefing to verify that what was
forecast in the morning was still accurate.

I sure could have.

My Plan B that day, as it often is, was to divert to
the nearest airport and land safely. Plan C should
have been to return home through another mode
of transportation and landing off-airport should
always be considered as a viable option if needed.
However, this day it seemed so obvious that I
would have no problems with the return flight,
I didn't even think through those scenarios.
What a mistake. I learned many lessons that
day-go to Plan B early on rather than flying into
deteriorating weather conditions, leave a spare

It was a beautiful summer day and the beach was
calling my name. The weather was forecast to
remain VFR all day, with light winds. The ceiling
would be lower in the afternoon but still within
my comfort level for my ability and experience,
and I felt no pressure to return early to beat the
weather. I packed up the Piper Archer with two
friends and headed out. After a few hours on
the beach we returned to the airport to preflight

Halfway home the ceiling lowered, and I
pressed on. However, it quickly became evident
that the situation was worsening. There were
thunderstorms in the vicinity and although the
weather radar showed an opening between two
cells that was tempting, I was concerned that
option may not end well. I diverted to a nearby
airport, landed, and checked the weather in more
detail while safely on the ground. Now armed with
all the facts, we decided to stay on the ground and
call a friend to drive us the 70 miles home.
CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1
