Flight Training - April 2014 - 37

flight. They are all serious breaches of the
PIC's responsibility, however. That is just
as true in my case as it is with the others.
Our anonymous pilot distills the issue
down to its essence. "This happens
because the pilots get distracted." True
enough.
Distraction is a serious issue in flight.
The Private Pilot Practical Test Standards
actually include a sentence that reads,
"Numerous studies indicate that many
accidents have occurred when the pilot
has been distracted during critical phases
of flight." It is fair to categorize landing
as a critical phase of flight. And when
the airplane comes to a stop on the right
runway, at the wrong airport, it is very difficult for a pilot to assert he or she was not
adversely affected by distraction.
I was distracted by an overwrought
student and my own concern over the
insufficient planning that went into my
flight. Our anonymous pilot was distracted by the fact that he had sighted
a runway that had the same identifying number as the runway he had been
assigned. The Atlas and Southwest pilots
were distracted by seeing an airport that
wasn't quite where they expected it to
be, but it was close enough that they
assumed it must be their destination.
Mistakes happen, but we can take
steps to prevent those mistakes. In fact,
we have a responsibility to take proactive
steps to prevent mistakes. That is part of
what being PIC is all about.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A
POUND OF CURE. Fortunately, preventing a truly embarrassing and potentially
dangerous mistake is not hard. We have
the tools and we have the training. Our
challenge is to simply put those tools and
that training to work.
Look for visual cues. Runway orientation isn't the only indicator we should
use for identifying an airport on a visual
approach. Look for nearby landmarks that
will help distinguish this Runway 27 from
any other Runway 27. Is there a highway
nearby, or a lake, or a river? Is the airport
in the city or is it three miles south? These
details will help you put your wheels

down where you intended, rather at a nearby field where they
didn't expect you and you don't want to be.
Use your instruments. Just because you're on a visual approach
doesn't mean you can't utilize the navaids available on the field. In
congested places like south Florida where there are a half dozen
airports with similar runway alignment in the same tight geographical area, you can use the localizer to verify that you're lined
up on the runway you intended to line up on. Even VFR pilots with
minimal instrument training can tune in the localizer and watch
the needle center as they line up on the assigned runway. If you
see the runway ahead of you but the needle is pegged to the left or
right, that's a pretty good indication you're in the wrong place.
Use your other instruments. GPS has become ubiquitous in
the cockpit. Whether it's in the front office of a wide-body jet or
the tight confines of a homebuilt kit, the best navigational equipment known to man will fit in your panel or on your knee without
breaking the bank. One of the many benefits of GPS is that it can
help you positively identify a specific airport without the need to
locate a frequency, tune, and identify it. For pilots who have left
these important tasks until they are already in the traffic pattern
where their workload increases dramatically, the GPS can be a true
lifesaver.

LITTLE DID I KNOW I WAS LANDING AT AN
AIRPORT WITH THE SAME RUNWAY ALIGNMENT
THAT LAY SEVERAL MILES SHORT OF MY ACTUAL
DESTINATION, ON THE SAME VOR RADIAL.

Use your head. The best tool any pilot has at his disposal is
the one that rests between the ear pads of the headset. Use your
head whenever you fly, whether it's to an airport you've been to
many times before, or one you're arriving at for the first time.
Take your time to get set up before you arrive there. Positively
identify the field. Use your situational awareness skills to plan the
route of flight that will put you in position to join the appropriate traffic pattern or approach as the tower instructs, then verify
that approach to be correct. Be on guard to prevent yourself from
simply accepting a snap decision that could put you in a position
you really don't want to be in.
Our anonymous pilot remembers his own wrong airport landing
and opines, "Your brain gets locked in and you believe a reality that
just isn't there." In other words, don't lie to yourself. If the airport
isn't quite where you expected it to be, or the runway configuration
is close but not quite right, consider the possibility that it's not the
airport you were destined for. Verify, verify, verify. You'll be glad
you did.
Jamie Beckett is a private pilot living in Winter Haven, Florida.

APRIL 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

/ 37

Flight Training - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - April 2014