Flying : Risk Factors and Decision Making - PowerPoint Presentation

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Slide 1

Transport Canada
Quebec Region
Civil Aviation

Sophie Lanoix

System Safety Specialist

System Safety
700 Leigh Capreol
Dorval QC H4Y 1G7
Tél.: 514-633-2967 Fax: 514-633-3705

Speaker's Notes

Introduce self
Documentation

Slide 2

Speaker's Notes

We’ve had many requests for a presentation on decision-making.

So we decided that this year we would offer a presentation on risk factors and decision-making suited to the needs of Recency clients.We haven’t reinvented the wheel. Instead we’ve adapted an existing presentation from the FAA and the Australian CAA.

Have you ever found yourself flying under difficult conditions?

Have you ever had a narrow escape? Or been frightened?

Have you ever said to yourself “Never again”?

Why was that???

 

 

Slide 3

 

 

Flying : Risk Factors & Decision Making

• Personal Minimums Checklist

• Risk factors

Pilot

Aircraft

enVironment

External pressures

Speaker's Notes

Probably because you didn’t make the right decisions at the right time.

It’s often easy to identify risk factors AFTER the flight or incident, or the risk factors for someone else’s flight. It’s much harder to identify them for your own flight, or WHILE you are flying.

After the title, click once

The purpose of this workshop is to help you prepare your own checklist so that you can decide whether to make the flight or not, and identify the conditions for the flight.

How?

Click once, then for each category

To help identify risk factors, we’ve put them in 4 categories: P A V E .

We’ll look at the main risks associated with each category, so that you can recognize them and make the right decisions.

Slide 4

Why?

• Humans make mistakes.

• 70-85% of all aircraft accidents and incidents are due to human factors.

Most accidents and incidents occur
because the pilot failed to consider one
or more critical factors during the
pre-flight planning phase.

Speaker's Notes

After 1^st point:

Statistics show that 70-85%...

An accident is the result of several small events. It’s a chain of events.

Click for last sentence

 

 

Slide 5

 

 

Those Most Likely to be Involved in an Accident:

• are between 35 and 39 years of age;

• have between 100 and 500 flight hours;

• are on a personal flight;

• are under visual flight rules (VFR).

Speaker's Notes

Before the characteristics

According to statistics, those most likely to be involved in an accident have the following characteristics:

Click on the first 2

After the first 2

Why 100 to 500 hours? OVERCONFIDENCE (we’ll talk more about this later)

After the 4 conditions, click

And you?

Slide 6

Phase of Flight Exposure vs. Accidents

Percentage of Exposure Time (per flight)

• Takeoff and climb: 16%

• Cruise: 60%

• Descent, approach and landing: 24%

Percentage of Accidents (per phase of flight)

• Takeoff and climb: 22%

• Cruise: 17%

• Descent, approach and landing: 61%

Speaker's Notes

Explain the slide

Point out that accidents take place mainly during take-off and landing.

Ask why

Because the pilot has a lot more to do when taking off or landing.

Also, when landing, pilots are more tired than they were when taking off. So they are eager to get onto the ground.

 

 

Slide 7

 

 

NASA Survey

Percentage of respondents who said:
“Our fist mistake was in the…”

 

• Pre-flight planning phase: 63%

• Start up, taxi, pre-takeoff phases: 27%

• All other phases of flight: 10%

Accidents where time factor was reported

Speaker's Notes

Those who’ve made mistakes say, in 73% of cases, that they made their first mistake before they even took off!

The more carefully you do your pre-flight planning, the less exposed you are to risks. Your personal checklist should be an integral part of pre-flight planning.

Slide 8

Personal Minimums Checklist

Your personal minimum checklist ensures that you recognize and manage all risk factors that can influence your flight.

Speaker's Notes

Why a checklist? So that you don’t forget anything.

Why your own checklist? Because what’s good for the person next to you is not necessarily what’s good for you, and vice versa.

We use checklists when we start up the engines, when we take off, and so on.
But planning is never done the same way, and in addition, there’s no checklist for it. I’m going to give you one.

 

 

Slide 9

Personal Minimums Checklist

• The decision to carry out a flight is based on the pilot’s personal and safety criteria, which are adapted to the situation.

• The regulations are minimums and do not account for the differences between pilots.

Speaker's Notes

After 1^st sentence

You can raise the minimums if you wish, based on your knowledge, experience and skills.

After the 2^nd sentence

The regulations provide a MINIMUM; they’re not what you should be aiming for. You must always leave yourself some flexibility.

Having your own personal checklist lets you set your own personal minimums. These must never be less than what the regulations require.

Slide 10

Personal Minimums Checklist

• Identify risk factors for each flight.

• Determine methods for controlling each of the risk factors.

Speaker's Notes

After 1^st sentence

The best way to identify risk factors for a flight is to go through the entire checklist before the flight. That will give you an awareness of the existing situation and let you make a more informed decision about the flight.

After 2^nd sentence

Along with the checklist, I’m going to be giving you some solutions, but bear in mind that there are other ways of managing risks. One solution may be a decision not to make the flight, but there are many others, such as delaying your departure, changing the route, or putting someone who’s in better shape in the pilot’s seat.

Another way is to set predetermined limitations and then stick to them. For example, minimum weather conditions that are higher than the allowed minimums but make you feel more comfortable.

Slide 11

Personal Minimums Checklist

• Not all items will apply to every flight; no checklist can cover every situation.

• Remember that your checklist should be updated periodically.

Speaker's Notes

Read 1^st sentence

After 2^nd sentence

Your list will vary from flight to flight, depending on the 4 types of risk factor.

Conditions are rarely the same from one flight to another.

I recommend that you make several copies of your personal checklist, or laminate it so that you can write on it with an erasable marker.

Slide 12

Risk Factors

 

There are 4 categories of risk factors:

• Pilot

• Aircraft

• enVironement

• External Pressures

Speaker's Notes

After the 4 categories of risk factor

Who remembers the 4 categories we saw at the start of the presentation?

Let’s start with the first one: click

 

 

Slide 13

 

 

 

Pilot

Examples of questions to ask yourself:

• How current am I?

• Am I well rested?

• Am I familiar with the type of airspace I will be flying in?

• Do I have experience with the terrain?

Speaker's Notes

Go through the points one at a time

Add

Are you under the effect of medication, alcohol, fatigue or stress?

Slide 14

 

Training, Knowledge and Experience

A lack of:

• Training and knowledge
• Experience
• Recency and proficiency

will increase:

• Workload
• Reaction time
• Errors

CARs 401.05 & 421.05

Speaker's Notes

Go through the points

Add:

The better prepared you are, the better your flight will go. Does that make sense?

It takes more time and attention to do something (perform a task) when you lack training, knowledge or experience.

 

 

Slide 15

 

 

 

Procedures

Do you know the most up-to-date operational procedures and the current regulations?

Speaker's Notes

After the title

What is a procedure? It’s a set of habits, a way of doing things. Examples: checklists, emergency procedures, radio procedures (position report), navigation procedures.
The more familiar you are with the procedures, and the more you practice them, the more at ease you will feel.

Click for sentence

Where will you find the most up-to-date operational procedures?
AIP, the manual From the Ground Up, instructors, Pilot Operating Handbook,

For regulations: short of consulting the mammoth Canadian Aviation Regulations, you can find much of the information in the CARs section of AIP Canada. Have you looked at that recently? Is your AIP up to date? This can never be repeated enough. Your publications need to be up to date. Old versions aren’t worth much. Many items of information may change over time: services, obstacles, procedures. You also need to look at NOTAMs for last-minute changes. Last summer at ZBM, the frequency change did not take place as planned, and those who had not looked at their NOTAMs were not on the right frequency.

CARs ref: https://tc.canada.ca/ search for: CARs (part 602)

Slide 16

 

Beware of Overconfidence

Overconfidence in a pilot occurs when they are lulled into a sense of self-satisfaction accompanied by:

• a failure to recognize changes in their situation; or

• a failure to assess the actual dangers or deficiencies in their situation.

Speaker's Notes

After the first point

You’re not really paying attention to what’s going on.

At the end

If you think nothing can happen to you, if you think you’re invincible, that is overconfidence. And you probably fall within the 100 to 500 flying hours we were talking about earlier. Try the self-assessment test you were given on dangerous attitudes, in order to determine your predominant attitude. Keep a watch on yourself, and follow this advice:

Slide 17

 

Avoiding Overconfidence

• Do thorough pre-flight planning.

• Anticipate and continually assess the situation.

• Stay busy: pre-plan, file a PIREP, think about the “What ifs ...”

• Always have an escape route (an alternate plan of action or a plan “B”).

Speaker's Notes

After the 2^nd point

Be pro-active.

After the 3^rd point

Think about the “what if’s” which are relevant to the flight!!! Otherwise, thinking about “what if’s” is a distraction.

 

 

Slide 18

 

 

 

Fatigue

A fatigued pilot:

• is susceptible to visual and kinaesthetic illusions and has a reduced field of vision;

• may forget or ignore checks and procedures;

• is easily distracted and fixates on details;

• is easily preoccupied;

• has limited situational awareness; exhibits poor communication skills; is likely to doze off.

Speaker's Notes

After the title

Be aware that any change in your sleeping habits will result in fatigue. Missing just 2 hours of sleep will have a visible effect on the system.

Click as far as point 3, give example

The ValueJet accident in the Everglades: the crew focussed on a light, resulting in CFIT and everyone died.

After “is likely to doze off”

Your reaction time increases.

Fatigue affects your faculties in a way similar to alcohol.
When you’ve been awake for 17 hours, you are functioning as if you had 0.05 alcohol in your blood (legal limit is 0.08). When you’ve been awake for 24 hours, that’s equivalent to 0.1 alcohol.

If you’re not tired, you may be able to get out of a bad situation by making a night-time landing at an airport you’ve never been to, or by making a precautionary landing due to bad weather or a mechanical problem. But if you’re tired, will you be able to get out of the situation in these ways?

Slide 19

 

Preventing Fatigue

• Get 8 hours of sleep if possible.

• If you are unable to fall asleep in 30 minutes, get up.

• Take a power nap, if possible (45 minutes max.).

• Stay in good physical condition (aerobic) and eat sensibly.

• Avoid using artificial stimulants, sleep aids, alcohol and tobacco.

• Drink enough water.

Speaker's Notes

After 2^nd point

And do something that’s not very interesting

After 4^th point

Exercising 3 times a week is recommended.

After “Avoid using…”

They disturb the sleep cycle by eliminating phases. Sleep is then less restorative.

After “Drink…”

Be careful about coffee, which is a diuretic. You may dehydrate yourself. The effects will be like a hangover!  

 

 

Slide 20

 

 

 

Preventing In-Flight Fatigue

If you are fatigued while flying:

• ventilate the cockpit;

• engage in constructive conversation;

• file a PIREP with ATS;

• review emergency procedures;

• think about the “What ifs ?” and your plan “B”;

• move around.

Speaker's Notes

After 2^nd point

Say positive things. It’s more restful. It takes too much energy to say negative things.

Ask question

What is the right frequency for chatting? 122.75 (if there are 2 radios)

Continue with the points up to “Move around”

Of course you can’t stand up and walk around. Stretch, chew gum, turn your head.

Slide 21

 

Fitness of Flight Crew Members (CAR 602.02)

No operator of an aircraft shall require any person to act as a flight crew member and no person shall act as a flight crew member, if either the person or the operator has any reason to believe, having regard to the circumstances of the particular flight to be undertaken, that the person

(a) is suffering or is likely to suffer from fatigue; or

(b) is otherwise unfit to perform properly the person's duties as a flight crew member.

 

 

 

Slide 22

 

 

 

Diet

 

Speaker's Notes

To pilot a plane, you need to be in good health, and for that you need a healthy, well-balanced diet and you need to eat at regular hours.

Ask question:

What is your first reflex when you’re tired and need energy?
Chocolate is a simple carbohydrate. You should be wary of simple carbohydrates because they contain sugar and fat. They provide a lot of instant energy, but 30 minutes or an hour later, sometimes sooner, your blood sugar level will drop below the level it was before you ate the chocolate, and you are then back in the low blood-sugar danger zone.
Some symptoms of low blood sugar: sleepiness, lethargy, irritability.

If you feel tired and need energy, eat complex carbohydrates: nuts, a little meat (proteins).
They will give you energy less quickly than simple carbohydrates, but at a constant rate, and there will be no abnormal lowering of blood sugar.
I often carry raw almonds with me, for example when I do 18 holes of golf. They’re easy to carry on a plane; you can even keep a permanent supply in your flight case.

Slide 23

 

Alcohol:

• is a sedative;
• decreases the brain’s ability to use oxygen;
• affects our senses;
• affects our judgement;
• distorts our perception.

Speaker's Notes

After “Distorts our perception”

Having a little nip can be very pleasant…if you’re keeping both feet on the ground…and you’re not driving.

Alcohol does not mix with flying a plane. Alcohol mainly affects the brain, the eyes and the inner ear– three organs which are vital to the pilot.

Click for last sentence

Sophie
Gin & Tonic: Tonic contains quinine (effects???)

 

 

Slide 24

 

 

 

Alcohol vs. Senses

• Reduction in visual and auditory sharpness.

• Susceptibility to visual illusions.

• Susceptibility to vestibular illusions (internal ear).

• Loss of balance.

Speaker's Notes

With title

Effects of alcohol on your senses: read one by one

Slide 25

 

Alcohol vs. Judgment

Alcohol impairs our judgment by:

• increasing our reaction time;
• clouding our memory;
• making us accept a higher level of risk than normal;
• making us underestimate the risks involved.

Speaker's Notes

With title

Effects of alcohol on judgment: read one by one

After the last point It’s like the guy who said, about the gas supply on board:

If we’re missing gas, we won’t miss it much!!!

 

 

Slide 26

 

 

 

Alcohol vs. Judgment

The most serious effect of alcohol is that we are unable to judge our own impairment.

Speaker's Notes

You don’t even realize that you are unable to do what you normally do.

Slide 27

 

Alcohol vs. Metabolism

• Alcohol is a diuretic…a hangover is the result of dehydration.

• Alcohol disrupts sleep patterns, causing fatigue.

• Alcohol that accumulates in the inner ear remains longer than the alcohol that accumulates in the rest of the body.

Speaker's Notes

After 1^st point

I mentioned earlier that coffee is a diuretic. Well, alcohol is too. The body loses its fluids. You drink one can of beer, you pee out two.

After last point

Alcohol that accumulates in the inner ear has a direct effect on balance and spatial orientation.

Even if you wait 8 hours between drinking and flying, that may not bring your blood alcohol back below the legal limit.

If you have a hangover, you’re certainly in no shape to fly a plane.

All the cold showers and black coffee in the world won’t speed up the elimination of alcohol from your system, not even inhaling pure oxygen.

 

 

Slide 28

 

 

 

Alcohol vs. Metabolism

Even after alcohol is completely eliminated from the body, the effects can last for 48 to 72 hours after the last drink.

CAR 602.03

Speaker's Notes

The effects referred to here are dehydration (a hangover) and a loss of balance due to accumulation of alcohol in the inner ear.

If you are suffering these effects, you should not be flying a plane. The law is very clear about this:

No person shall act as a crew member of an aircraft
(a) within eight hours after consuming an alcoholic beverage;
(b) while under the influence of alcohol; or
(c) while using any drug that impairs the person’s faculties to the extent that the safety of the aircraft or of persons on board the aircraft is endangered in any way.

This last point takes us into a discussion of illness and medication.

Slide 29

 

Illness and Medication

• Medication covers up symptoms, but does not cure the underlying problem.

• Always consult a Civil Aviation Medical Examiner.

• Educate yourself on the side effects of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

• Before flying, wait double the recommended amount of time between doses.

Speaker's Notes

If you need to take aspirin every day because you have a headache, that’s not normal. There is an underlying problem. Aspirin will make the pain go away temporarily, but it won’t make the problem go away.

According to one civil aviation doctor, the only drug a pilot can take when flying is one regular acetaminophen like Tylenol (not extra-strength, not for sinus pain).

Who can give some examples of side effects?
Allergic reaction, sleepiness, digestive problems, stomache aches, loss of judgment, vision problems, itchiness, stimulation.

If you don’t feel well, stay on the ground and wait till you feel better.

The reason for waiting double the recommended amount of time between doses is that there is overlap. The first dose is still having a small effect when the time comes for the next dose. If the drug is to be taken every 4 hours, wait 8 hours before you fly.

 

 

Slide 30

 

 

Stress vs Performance

 

Speaker's Notes

Yellow and green: good stress
Red: bad stress

Stress is not always negative. The only people who feel no stress are dead people.

Different people have different degrees of resistance to stress. The amount of stress associated with optimal performance varies from person to person. The important thing is to identify the limiting amount of stress for YOUR ideal performance and stay within that limit.

When you are under low stress, you get bored and fall asleep. Performance is low. When stress exceeds your acceptable amount, you panic and performance declines.

Slide 31

 

Stress Management

• Identify, recognize and manage stressors.

• Get sufficient rest, proper nutrition and exercise.

• Check your attitude, sense of humour and emotional state.

Speaker's Notes

If people who know you tell you that you are stressed, listen to them. Since they know you, they can recognize the signs of stress before you do.

If you are the only person who doesn’t laugh when someone tells a joke, you should start asking yourself questions.

Most of you are men, and as we all know, men aren’t affected by emotions! But you are first and foremost human beings, and human beings are affected by emotional stress. It doesn’t have to be something big, like someone dying, for you to experience the effects of emotional stress.

For example, just having an argument with a spouse or a friend, or having a financial worry, or a dispute at work, can affect you and have an impact on your flight performance.

Be vigilant. Get to know yourself.

 

 

Slide 32

 

 

 

Stress Management

Be pro-active towards stressors:

• Know all the elements…

  • Keep the big picture in mind . . . what is the worst-case scenario?

  • Communicate your problems to people who can help.

Speaker's Notes

What are the causes of stress?
The more you know about a situation, the better you can handle it, and the less stress you have.

You’re men, so of course you don’t need help! But sometimes unburdening yourself to the right person lets you see things more clearly and puts things in perspective; you reduce stress by letting off steam.

It also helps to stand back and take stock.

Slide 33

Three Human Factors Books from Transport Canada

 

1-800-305-2059
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/publications

 

 

Slide 34

 

 

Coffee Break

The three most useless things to a pilot:

The altitude above you,

the runway behind you, and

a tenth of a second ago.

 

Slide 35

 

Aircraft

Examples of questions to ask yourself:

• Is the aircraft adequately equipped?

• Does the aircraft have any maintenance problems?

• What are the aircraft performances?

• What is the aircraft’s fuel consumption?

 

 

Slide 36

 

 

 

Airworthiness

Make sure your aircraft is airworthy:

• Check all aircraft documents.

• Do a complete walk-around.

• Make sure weight and balance is within the limits.

Speaker's Notes

Vérification pré-vol = walk-around

Slide 37

 

Time in Your Tanks...

• Calculate the amount of fuel you burn from engine start up to engine shut down, plus required reserves.

• Do not rely on a forecasted tailwind; anticipate headwinds.

• Be conscientious about your “how-goes-it” checkpoints!!

Speaker's Notes

It’s not the air time that counts but the time from when you start the engine up to when you shut it down. Remember there may be unforeseen delays, wherever you are.

 

 

Slide 38

 

 

 

CAR 602.88

Every aircraft shall carry an amount of fuel that is sufficient to provide for:

• taxiing and foreseeable delays prior to takeoff;

• meteorological conditions;

• foreseeable air traffic routings and traffic delays;

Speaker's Notes

A wooden dipstick is not always effective. Take a glass tube (sold in aviation supply stores).

Slide 39

 

CAR 602.88

• landing at a suitable aerodrome in the event of loss of cabin pressurization or, in the case of a multi-engined aircraft, failure of any engine, at the most critical point during the flight; and

• any other foreseeable conditions that could delay the landing of the aircraft.

• Plus a reserve supply of at least:

  • day VFR: 30 min

  • night VFR: 45 min

Speaker's Notes

The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire! (except for weight considerations)

 

 

Slide 40

 

 

 

Competency and Experience on Type

Are you up-to-date on the aircraft you intend to fly?

How is your:

• flying ability (hands and feet);

• knowledge of the aircraft;

• knowledge of the emergency procedures.

Speaker's Notes

Know the aircraft: “hands and feet”, emergencies, systems

If you are going to fly a plane you’re not familiar with, take care:

• Nose wheel to tail wheel
• Conventional aircraft to ultra-light
• Low wing to high wing

“Type” here means:
(a) when used in reference to personnel licensing, a specific make and model of aircraft, including modifications thereto that do not change its handling or flight charateristics, and
(b) when used in reference to the certification of aircraft, a classification of aircraft having similar design characteristics

Slide 41

 

Practical Knowledge

Static simulation is a cheap and effective means of familiarizing or re-familiarizing yourself with the aircraft's controls, instruments, avionics and checklist procedures.

Speaker's Notes

Simulation helps to develop reflexes. Hand movements.

It’s an effective way to practice procedures, whether they’re on the checklist or whether you have to learn them by heart, like the engine failure procedure.

Just because an engine fails, that doesn’t mean you will have to make a forced landing. You should try to restart the engine, but more importantly you need to determine why it stopped and how to make it start again. There is a checklist for that, but you may not have the time to get it out, depending on your altitude. So it’s important to know the procedure by heart, and practice it OFTEN. Static simulation is a very good way to practice the procedure.

 

 

Slide 42

.

 

 

 

Practical Knowledge

• Take the time to practice flight manoeuvres.

• An occasional or, even better, annual flight with an instructor is invaluable.

• Develop your automatism!

Speaker's Notes

Just knowing the forced landing procedure by heart doesn’t mean you will land successfully in the field you select, and knowing how to land successfully doesn’t mean you know the forced landing procedure. These are two very different things, and they both call for a lot of practice.

Slide 43

 

Aircraft Performance

Performances and fuel consumption indicated in the pilot operating handbook (POH) have been calculated in ideal circumstances:

• a new aircraft;

• an experienced test pilot;

• maximum performances;

• optimal weather conditions.

Speaker's Notes

What are the chances that you will be flying under these ideal circumstances?
Bear in mind that what’s in the POH is often just publicity!

Don’t take chances. Think ahead.

 

 

Slide 44

 

 

 

Aircraft Performance

Be conservative!

Add a percentage to your performance calculations:

• take-off distance;

• obstacle clearance and climb;

• landing distance.

Speaker's Notes

“Authorized documentation” means that it should be approved by the manufacturer.

The right manual, the right serial number and all the amendments and STC. Otherwise the airworthiness certificate is suspended.

Slide 45

 

Aircraft Equipment

• Communication/Navigation:

  • required for the airspace you will be flying in;

  • familiarity with the equipment.

• Clothing and survival equipment:

  • appropriate for the season and the area.

Speaker's Notes

It’s great to have the latest equipment, but do you know how it works?

If you had to make a forced landing, would you be able to wait for help in an unheated aircraft?
Take boots, gloves, and a cap. That’s a minimum.

 

 

Slide 46

 

 

 

Maintenance

• Are you maintaining your aircraft yourself?

• Is your mechanic an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME)?

• Are all the parts approved for aviation (no bogus parts)?

Speaker's Notes

There are things you can do yourself and things you can’t. See Appendix A in the documentation you were given. (recreational aircraft package)

It’s up to the engineer to decide whether he knows how to maintain your type of aircraft.

In our video library, there’s one that covers bogus parts: “Seek out, Speak out, Wipe out”.

When you’re in a car and things go wrong, you can always pull over to the side of the road and make a repair. When you’re in a plane and things go wrong, the situation is far more dangerous.

Slide 47

 

Avionics

• Avionics technology is changing rapidly.

• Be aware that GPS receivers have different control functions, programming procedures and data displays.

Speaker's Notes

The switches are not all in the same place.

GPS receivers don’t all have the same functions.

 

 

Slide 48

 

 

 

Environment

Examples of questions to ask yourself:

• What will the weather be at destination?

• Will it be a day flight or a night flight?

• What terrain is involved?

• Is the runway in good condition?

Slide 49

 

Airport Conditions

• Prepare your approach as part of your pre-flight planning, check NOTAMs.

• If you are unfamiliar with the airport, look at the diagram in the CFS or the CAP plate.

• Call ahead, airport/runway conditions vary based on the weather and season.

• Follow special procedures set out in the CFS.

Speaker's Notes

Example of noise: Mascouche
Example of circuit: Bromont (right circuit on a runway)

Read NOTAMs when planning your flight.

 

 

Slide 50

 

 

 

Airspace

• Know the area radio frequencies and monitor them.

• Familiarize yourself with transition routes and reporting points.

• Look for, and monitor, other aircraft in the area.

Speaker's Notes

After the first 2 points:

Where will you find this information?

CFS – VTA charts

Listen on the right frequency.

Slide 51

 

Weather

• Check METARs, TAFs, FDs and GFAs.

• Assess any meteorological hazards such as:

  • reduced visibility, thunderstorms, wind shear, icing, low ceilings etc.

• Familiarize yourself with local weather trends.

Speaker's Notes

FSS’s can give you all kinds of relevant information.

Example of Sept-Iles: You can arrive in the morning and runway 09/27 will be covered in fog while the rest of the airport, to the north, is VFR.

 

 

Slide 52

 

 

 

Weather

• Determine how the weather will be affecting your flight route and duration.

• Avoid bad weather conditions.

Speaker's Notes

It’s not enough to get the weather at origin and destination. You also need to get it en route. Once again, the FSS can help you.

A trick for assessing visibility properly: choose a point at the limit of visibility and calculate the time it takes to get there.
Time vs Ground speed

Slide 53

 

Terrain

• Be familiar with obstacles and terrain.

• Charts, CFS:

  • all the necessary information;

  • up-to-date;

  • organized.

Speaker's Notes

Have an organized cockpit: CFS, charts, pencils, knee-pad.

CFS at the right page (show how to use coloured paper clips to identify the pages that will be needed)
Chart folded so you can see the route right away at a glance without having to adjust the chart.

All this you do during pre-flight planning.

 

 

Slide 54

 

 

 

External Pressures

Examples of questions to ask yourself:

• What outside forces are pushing me?

• Why am I making this trip?

• Am I pressed for time?

• What are the real consequences to my decisions?

Speaker's Notes

Consequences: if you decide to postpone your flight for some reason, is that really bad?

If you’re flying for pleasure, then keep it pleasant!
Are your life and the lives of your passengers worth less than the meeting you may miss?

This is the time to put your plan B or plan C into effect.

Sometimes it’s hard to find another way to get home. Your boss and your spouse will surely prefer that you arrive a day late rather than never.

Slide 55

 

Time Pressure

Exemples de questions à se poser :

The more you feel pressed for time,

the more you do things hastily,

the higher your chances of making a mistake.

Speaker's Notes

Time pressure is the worst kind of external pressure.

 

 

Slide 56

 

 

 

Time Pressure Management

Do not put yourself under unnecessary time pressure:

• Allow sufficient time for unforeseen delays.

• Plan alternate means of travel to allow for bad weather.

Slide 57

 

Time Pressure Management

Do not rush:

• Use your checklist and stick to the procedures.

• If you are interrupted, go three steps back on the checklist or start at the beginning!

Speaker's Notes

Go three steps back to be sure you haven’t missed an item.
A study showed that when a pilot was interrupted, he thought he was three steps further along. Because the brain thinks ahead.

 

 

Slide 58

 

 

 

Managing External Pressures

• Beware of the effects of the “I have to get there no matter what” syndrome.

• Always have a plan “B”;

  • What is your way out?

• Set limits (fuel, weather, etc.) at which you will turn around or divert.

Speaker's Notes

In many cases, turning around means surviving.

You’ve probably heard of pilots who’d still be alive if they had turned back. Read the Aviation Safety Letter. It’s full of examples.

Slide 59

 

Peer and Passenger Pressures

• Do not ignore or minimize passenger concerns before a flight.

• Give your passengers a thorough pre-flight briefing.

• Make use of all resources: ask passengers to watch for traffic, read maps and other publications.

Speaker's Notes

The time you take to brief your passengers could be the best investment you ever make.

 

 

Slide 60

 

 

 

Peer and Passenger Pressures

Make decisions based on facts and your limitations.

Do not get yourself into situations that you did not plan. Beware of last minute, unplanned changes!

Speaker's Notes

But if at the last minute you decide to cancel your flight, that’s a good last-minute change!
In some cases, it’s better to say no than to find yourself in an unfamiliar and unplanned situation.

Slide 61

Personal Minimums Checklist

You need to commit to using the checklist.

Make it a part of your pre-flight routine and have the discipline to follow it through!!

Speaker's Notes

Speaking of pre-flight planning, let’s go back to your checklist.

 

 

Slide 62

 

 

 

Speaker's Notes

The risks were greater in the early days of aviation, and many more pilots died.