Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 22
PREFLIGHT FLIGHT LESSON
BY MARK ROBERTSON
NO DEAL
SHOULD YOU ALWAYS FOLLOW ATC ORDERS?
WHAT HAPPENED
I started a turn to the runway and informed
ATC. The response I got was to maintain the
assigned heading because a business jet was
landing at the airport.
I HAD JUST ENTERED A VERY BUSY CLASS B AREA ON AN IFR
flight plan. ATC told me to maintain 5,000 feet and gave me
a heading to fly. I finished the published arrival and was now
ready for a familiar set of vectors around traffic to my home field.
Ahead and to my left was the airport where I take my Cirrus
SR22T for maintenance.
The turbo Continental had been running smoothly, but suddenly
not so much. A strong vibration abruptly got my attention.
I have had four other occasions of a rough engine in my 28 years
of flying. One was a failed cylinder valve, which forced a landing
far from home and a new cylinder. Another was bad gas and a
rough engine on takeoff, which ended successfully with a return
to the runway. That was exciting! The other two were caused by
defective spark plug leads and were only a minor vibration.
On this incident, the roughness was at least as bad as the
failed cylinder, and most concerning was a complete drop of
exhaust gas temperature immediately on number one. I obviously
had lost the cylinder but did not know the extent of the
damage. Even with the nonstop chatter on the ATC frequency, I
didn't hesitate to declare an emergency. This was the first time in
my flying career to have done so.
The controller asked for an explanation and my intent. I
told him I wanted vectors to the airport to my left. He gave me
a vector to a final approach course. The broken layer below me
became more scattered and I could see an opening directly to
the field, so I started a turn to the runway and informed ATC.
22
FLIGHT TRAINING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
EMERGENCY
PROCEDURES
There's no way
to be totally
prepared for every
emergency. Despite
our best intentions,
sometimes things
just go wrong. But
practice, planning,
and good judgment
can improve the odds
of dealing with an
emergency for the
best outcome. First,
do no harm-fly the
airplane and stay in
control. Then assess
the situation and
troubleshoot. Take
the AOPA Air Safety
Institute Emergency
Procedures course for
more information.
aopa.org/ft/
emergencyprocedures-course
The
response I got was to maintain the
assigned heading because a business
jet was landing at the airport. Before
everyone says, " you should have overruled
him, " let's put this in perspective. I've
flown more than 3,000 hours of mostly
IFR. That's a lot of time following ATC
commands. My instinct is to just do it first
and think about it second.
On the other hand, the ATC controller
is conditioned to prevent a lack of separation
between aircraft. When I later talked
to a retired controller friend about this, he
said " that guy was mostly thinking about
preventing a 'deal,' " ATC jargon for when
two airplanes lose minimum separation.
It seems we were both reacting to instinct
and not logic at that moment.
Contributing to this improper response
on both sides, I believe, was the assumption
that a rough engine is only marginally
an " emergency. " The engine was still producing
ample power to maintain altitude
and I did not think that would change.
ATC was focused on no Deal and not that I
could be a glider at any moment.
After landing and taxiing up to the
maintenance hangar, I was surprised to
see the mechanics coming out and looking
under my airplane with a fire extinguisher
in hand. The smoke was alarming to me as
well. The cylinder in question had failed
catastrophically, and oil was running
out from under the cowling. I had oil
pressure, but I don't know how long that
would have lasted.
As pilot in command in an emergency,
I should have told ATC that I was going
directly to the runway and told them do
what you need to with the bizjet. But the
other point is that ATC controllers are
human too, and being focused on a no deal
is not always the right choice either.
TOP LEFT: ALEX WILLIAMSON; ABOVE: STEVE KARP
http://www.aopa.org/ft/emergency-procedures-course
Flight Training - September/October 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September/October 2023
Contents
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Intro
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Cover1
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Cover2
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 1
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Contents
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 3
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 4
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 5
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 6
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 7
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 8
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 9
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 10
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 11
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 12
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 13
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 14
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 15
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 16
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 17
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 18
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 19
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 20
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 21
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 22
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 23
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 24
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 25
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 26
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 27
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 28
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 29
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 30
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 31
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 32
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 33
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 34
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 35
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 36
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 37
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 38
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 39
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 40
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 41
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 42
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 43
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 44
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 45
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 46
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 47
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 48
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 49
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 50
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 51
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 52
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 53
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 54
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 55
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 56
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 57
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 58
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 59
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 60
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 61
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 62
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 63
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - 64
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Cover3
Flight Training - September/October 2023 - Cover4
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