Flight Training - June 2011 - 6

RIGHT SEAT

By Ian J. Twombly
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BAD ATTITUDES
DON’T LET THEM GET THE BEST OF YOU

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uick, name all five of the FAA’s hazardous attitudes that lead to increased flight risk, and presumably, accidents. OK, what about two? Can’t do it? Don’t worry, we all have to look them up. The attitudes are: anti-authority, implusivity,
A prime example is a low-time pilot who many years ago took off into poor weather for the simple reason he wanted to get home. Our story about that accident, and the vivid way in which it teaches the hazardous attitudes, is the subject of “Lessons Learned,” beginning on page 32. It’s a story that teaches us about hazardous attitudes without flow charts, graphs, or checklists. I initially hesitated including the story in Flight Training, but the truth is that airplanes crash whether we talk about it or not. To ignore that is to invite it upon ourselves. Instead, we should study the reasons why and confront them. Thankfully, it’s clear from studying accident data that if you fly smart, you’ll be safe. David Kenny, the statistical analyst for the AOPA Air Safety Institute and writer for our Instructor Report section, said once that if you can land and take off well, and you make good decisions, the chances of you having an accident are vastly reduced. I realize this advice may seem at odds with your training, where emergencies such as engine-out practice are drilled over and over again. The primary reason people are forced to land without power? It’s because they run out of fuel or don’t know how to manage the fuel system. So, keep your wits about you; learn the five hazardous attitudes, if for no other reason than awareness; study the reasons people get into trouble, like in our story this month; practice your takeoffs and landings, and you’ll confidently enjoy the challenges of general aviation flying for many years to come.
E-mail Deputy Editor Ian Twombly at ian.twombly@ aopa.org; Twitter: ijtwombly; and visit Flight Training on Facebook.

invulnerability, macho, and resignation. The reason you probably couldn’t name them, and the reason that many CFIs don’t teach them, is because they are enigmatic and lack a connection to our daily flying. The attitudes, and the inevitable bar graphs, flow charts, and checklists that ensue, don’t allow for critical self-analysis or examination. By simply saying that anti-authority is a hazardous attitude, do we really believe that a pilot is going to raise his hand and admit to his behavior? Or that he’ll use the checklist? I have yet to meet a pilot who uses the PAVE checklist (pilot, airplane, environment, and external factors) before strapping in, nor do most pilots use I’M SAFE (that one is all for personal health) beyond their first 100 flight hours. The memory joggers might be easy to recall, but they’re easy to cheat on, and oh so lame. This unfortunately obscures the fact that the risks are real. People do get in aircraft accidents on a regular basis because of poor decision making, some of which can be nicely placed in one of the five boxes. The challenge for you is how to recognize these hazardous attitudes before they get the best of you. My checklist is simple and ensures complete honesty—I ask myself one question: Absent airborne mechanical issues or other traffic, am I assured of making this flight safely? To answer yes requires an examination of weather, airplane, personal fitness, and everything else the FAA wants me to do. But most important, it stops what I consider my worst vice—get-thereitis. I conjure a mental image of my family and the rest takes care of itself. Many pilots in history have failed to ask themselves that one basic question, and some weren’t lucky enough to fly again.

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Flight Training - June 2011

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