AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 104

NEWS & NOTES

AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE

For your favorite passengers
Promote frequent fliers from passengers to crew
BY ALICIA HERRON

NEW FROM ASI
THERE I WAS...: SHORT-FIELD
STRUGGLE
Master certificated flight instructor, designated pilot examiner,
and general aviation icon Doug
Stewart joins ASI to talk about
an incident he had in a 1974
Cessna Cardinal at a small New
Hampshire airport. While departing the 1,900-foot strip, Stewart
experienced a loss of power following takeoff, with trees at
the end of the runway quickly
approaching. Listen to hear how
he dealt with the situation.
airsafetyinstitute.org/thereiwas

BEING A PASSENGER TAKES AN IMMENSE

104 | AOPA PILOT March 2021

questions (and what to expect if you need
to listen to ATC). In flight, it's also helpful to advise passengers of power changes
before they are applied-big differences
in sound, coupled with the changed sensation a power adjustment brings, can be
especially concerning to the uninformed.
If you fly with a certain passenger
often, or have a particularly curious and
enthusiastic one, it's a great idea to have
them participate more actively. With a little knowledge and training, and patience
from you, they can help you with a variety
of in-flight tasks, become a valuable part of
the crew, and enjoy the flight even more.
Here are a couple tasks that willing
passengers can help with:
* Looking for traffic.
* Double-checking that the gear is down.
* Holding on to your chart or EFB.
* Helping you run through checklists.
* Taking cool photos of you for the 'Gram.

airsafetyinstitute.org/
spotlightpinchhitter
EMAIL alicia.herron@aopa.org

CHRIS ROSE

amount of trust. To a nonpilot, every
aspect of flying in a GA airplane can be a
new, baffling, and sometimes overwhelming experience. Passengers likely don't
know the mysteries of lift and thrust,
the intricacies of the flight instruments,
or how the flight controls work. But that
doesn't mean that they can't learn, or that
they don't want to.
Beyond the basic FAA-required passenger briefing, involve new passengers in the
flight and increase their comfort by explaining some aviation basics. Demonstrate the
flight controls, describe a couple of the
instruments, and give yourself extra time
during preflight to allow for any questions
(and to avoid feeling rushed). Before engine
start, make sure you demonstrate to your
passengers how to adjust their seats and
explain the idea of a sterile cockpit, including when they're allowed to talk and ask

Frequent passengers may have found
time to worry about an unlikely (but not
impossible) contingency-what will they
do if anything happens to you in flight?
While pilot incapacitation is rare, that
insidious " what if " can be a source of
anxiety and, in some cases, may inhibit
passengers from flying with you. The antidote to that fear is further knowledge and
hands-on experience.
Encourage your concerned frequent
flier to take a few flight lessons that will
focus on their role as a potential " pinch
hitter, " where they would have to land the
airplane after you became somehow incapacitated. The lessons will help put their
mind at rest-and who knows, after a couple flights, they might decide to continue
lessons and become a pilot themselves.
Check out the AOPA Air Safety
Institute's new Pinch Hitter Safety
Spotlight for basics of flight plus downloadable lesson plans.
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/thereiwas http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlightpinchhitter http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlightpinchhitter
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2021

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