Flight Training - November/December 2021 - 14

PREFLIGHT FLIGHT LESSON
BY ANDREW CRIDER
STRESS SHOW
PANICKING WITH A PASSED-OUT PASSENGER
WHAT HAPPENED
Two minutes later my
passenger called out,
" Wow, I'm feeling really
lightheaded. "
At this point, 30 to 60 seconds after the
emergency started, I was pointed directly
at the number 16 at RIC, and I was hard
charging. My passenger woke up with a
smile and a bit of confusion. I calmly said,
" Hey, we are just going to land at Richmond,
everything is OK. "
I had pointed the airplane at Runway
16, with no regard for weather or traffic.
But I was routed behind a Gulfstream
landing on Runway 34. The no-flap landing
was a squeaker. Even my passenger who
had just woken up said it was smooth.
I was trying to joke about the situation
I STARTED THE DAY WITH A PLAN TO MEET A FRIEND IN
Richmond. The plan was to fly my friend over Richmond, the
Virginia state capital, in my Van's RV-12 and then fly to Hummel
Field (W75) for a fly-in.
We flew over the city and it was all smiles. As we were transitioning
to the cruise, departing Richmond International Airport
Class C westbound, I gave my passenger a check-up " you good? "
just to make sure we still wanted to fly to our destination.
All good! Smiles and laughter.
Two minutes later my passenger called out, " Wow, I'm feeling
really lightheaded. "
I immediately looked at the altitude thinking it was hypoxia,
and when I read that we were only at 3,000 feet, I was confused.
My friend repeated, " Wow, I'm really lightheaded. "
It was lights out from there; in 10 seconds my passenger
slouched over. I cued the mic to declare an emergency.
" November-Nine-Two-Eight-Alpha-Charlie declaring an
emergency. " I looked at the map on the Dynon GPS and the first
airport code I saw was Hanover County Municipal Airport (OFP),
so I said, " I need an ambulance to meet me at Hanover. "
But then I realized Hanover was 7 nautical miles to my right,
but Richmond (RIC) was 4 miles to my left, with its own aircraft
rescue and firefighting (ARFF) unit. I would like to believe I
added " Disregard, " but I continued my callout by saying " I need
an ambulance at Richmond on the state ramp. "
14
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
ONLINE RESOURCE
DO NO HARM
Despite our
best intentions,
sometimes things
go wrong. Practice,
planning, and good
judgment can improve
your odds. Remember,
first do no harm-fly
the airplane and
stay in control. Then
assess the situation
and troubleshoot.
Taking drastic action is
usually not needed-
it can make things
worse.
The AOPA Air Safety
Institute offers
spotlights, seminars,
and YouTube videos
about dealing with
an emergency.
airsafetyinstitute.org
to keep my passenger in good spirits. I was
also relaying information to ATC about the
nature of the emergency, and we discussed
where to park. ATC rejected the state
ramp idea; I countered with the ARFF
building, and we settled on Richmond Jet
Center. ARFF met us there. The FBO was
hospitable; ARFF was professional and did
its job. My passenger was OK.
It's shocking how quickly you forget
everything in an emergency. I was acting
and deciding at the same time, which
is only good if you train for the right
decisions and procedure. I skipped over
a lot of the right procedures. I made the
landing a squeaker, I communicated
effectively, but I changed my decision
to go to Hanover because I didn't think
before acting.
I was laser-focused on landing on
Runway 16. I should have thought about
the weather and slowed down to get more
information about RIC. I also was so
focused on flying that I never checked to
make sure my passenger was breathing. I
just went with " they passed out. "
Practice your emergencies. If I'm honest,
I assumed a smile passed the IMSAFE
checklist. It did not.
TOP LEFT: ALEX WILLIAMSON; ABOVE: STEVE KARP
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org
Flight Training - November/December 2021

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