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In Flight USA Articles
Safe Landings: December 2013
Expectation Bias
An expectation of what we think will happen has a tendency to alter what we subsequently observe or hear. This expectation bias is often exacerbated by confirmation bias, i.e., being focused on information that confirms one’s interpretation of a situation while giving less weight to that which contradicts it. The following ASRS reports show how mistakes can be made when Pilots and Controllers are carried along by familiar cues, slip into habit patterns, and become less aware of changes to what is “expected.”
“I Absolutely… Heard Our Callsign”
Circumstances confirmed this CRJ900 crew’s expectations to the point where the First Officer “absolutely” believed that their callsign was given with a takeoff clearance. The Captain, also hearing what he expected to hear, started to taxi across the hold short line before a voice from the Tower raised a red flag.
Safe Landings - November 2013
Safe Landings - July 2013
Safe Landings - June 2013
It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off. Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.
In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner. The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others. These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating pro-active aviation safety programs. Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, CALLBACK, which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis. In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerted from CALLBACK, for our readers to read, study, occasionally laugh at, and always learn from. Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.
Weather and Aeronautical Information Services and Data Link Issues
In cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) initiated a study of meteorological (MET) and aeronautical information services (AIS) received via data link. The purpose of the study was to analyze information from users of data link technologies as reported in ASRS incident reports. Qualitative assessments of available records provided valuable insight on data link user interface and actual cockpit experiences related to data link weather or AIS information. The preliminary findings in the Study included:
Safe Landings - May 2013
Gear Up Landings – Getting a Handle on the Problem
Over the past five years, ASRS has received an average of 60 gear up landing reports per year. Gear up landings rarely meet the damage or injury requirements for a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report or investigation and they are seldom reflected in general aviation safety statistics. Nevertheless, no pilot wants to experience a gear up landing. There is always the potential for a serious outcome and the repair costs associated with any gear up landing can be substantial. To avoid the risks and costs associated with gear up landings, pilots can get a handle on the lessons offered in these ASRS reports.
Scrape and Go Landing
A malfunctioning gauge, failure to use a checklist and the absence of a gear warning horn were all factors in this blade-bending low approach.
Safe Landings - February 2013
Safe Landings - December 2012
Adverse Weather Planning and Tactics
Two Perspectives
According to the FAA General Aviation Pilot’s Guide to Preflight Planning, Weather Self-Briefings, and Weather Decision Making, many pilots who hear about a weather-related accident think, “I would never have tried to fly in those conditions.” But interviews with pilots who survived weather-related accidents indicate that they thought the same thing — until they found themselves in weather conditions they did not expect and could not safely handle. This CALLBACK presents weather-related ASRS incident reports along with corresponding National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports involving the same type of aircraft in similar weather conditions. The ASRS reports offer a first-hand account of what were often narrow escapes from adverse weather conditions. The NTSB reports are second-hand accounts about pilots who were not as fortunate in their weather encounters. The ASRS incidents are often seen as precursors to the accidents reported by the NTSB.
Three of the many lessons that can be learned from the ASRS reports are: 1) review and know the procedures for dealing with adverse weather in your aircraft, 2) avoid adverse weather if possible and, 3) have an escape plan in the event of an unexpected encounter with dangerous weather. Failure to learn the lessons presented here can lead to an ASRS incident report if you are lucky or an NTSB accident report if you are not. But, smart pilots remember the old axiom: You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.
Safe Landings - November 2012
Safe Landings - August 2012
What Would You Have Done?
This “interactive” issue of CALLBACK, deals with two situations that involve General Aviation Pilots’ encounters with weather. In “The First Half of the Story” you will find report excerpts describing the situation up to the decision point. It is up to the reader to determine the possible courses of action and make a decision (preferably within the same time frame that was available to the reporter). The selected ASRS reports may not give all the information you want and you may not be experienced in the type of aircraft involved, but each incident should give you a chance to exercise your aviation decision-making skills. In “The Rest of the Story…” you will find the actions actually taken by reporters in response to each situation. Bear in mind that their decisions may not necessarily represent the best course of action. Our intent is to stimulate thought, discussion, and training related to the type of incidents that were reported.
Safe Landings - June 2012
Intersection Incursions
According to the FAA, there are approximately three runway incursions every day in the United States. A runway incursion is defined as: Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft.1 Different aspects of the runway incursion problem will be addressed in future issues of CALLBACK. This month we will look only at runway incursions related to intersection departures.
An Intersection Close Call
Thanks to an alert ATC crew in the Tower, a pilot’s failure to hold short at a runway/taxiway intersection resulted in a close call rather than a collision.
Safe Landings - March 2012
What Would You Have Done?
This latest “interactive” issue of Safe Landings deals with two situations that involve general aviation pilots and one that involves an air carrier flight crew. In “the first half of the story” you will find report excerpts describing the situation up to the decision point. It is up to the reader to determine the possible courses of action and make a decision (preferably within the same time frame that was available to the reporter).
The selected ASRS reports may not give all the information you want and you may not be experienced in the type of aircraft involved, but each incident should give you a chance to exercise your aviation decision-making skills. In “the rest of the story,” you will find the actions actually taken by reporters in response to each situation. Bear in mind that their decisions may not necessarily represent the best course of action. Our intent is to stimulate thought, discussion, and training related to the type of incidents that were reported.
Safe Landings - June 2011
Safe Landings - April 2011
It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off. Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.
In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner. The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others. These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating pro-active aviation safety programs. Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, CALLBACK, which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis. In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerted from CALLBACK, for our readers to read, study, occasional laugh at and always, learn from. Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.
Preventable Fuel Management Errors: Fuel Exhaustion
Miscalculation: Determining fuel remaining based on assumed fuel burned figures and on gauges that are assumed to be correct is a dangerous gamble. This Piper Navajo pilot learned that physical verification of the fuel onboard is the best way to prevent miscalculations.
Safe Landings - February 2011
It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off. Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.
In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner. The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others. These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating pro-active aviation safety programs. Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, “CALLBACK,” which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis. In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerted from “CALLBACK,” for our readers to read, study, occasional laugh at and always, learn from. Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.
Paperless Flying
The day of the paperless cockpit has dawned, and with that, ASRS is hearing more about incidents involving Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs), as these electronic display systems are known.
EFB displays may be portable (Class 1), attached to a cockpit mounting device (Class 2), or built into the cockpit (Class 3). There is no doubt EFB devices are powerful and versatile. With display screens often the size of a laptop computer or approach plate, EFBs can display a variety of aviation data, including electronic manuals and documents, performance and planning data, moving maps and GPS, logs and checklists, spreadsheets, real-time weather, TCAS, terrain avoidance, email, and even the internet.