In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
Safe Landings: Re-Sourcing Crew Management
The application of team management concepts in the flight deck environment was initially known as cockpit resource management. As techniques and training evolved to include Flight Attendants, maintenance personnel, and others, the new phrase “Crew Resource Management” (CRM) was adopted. CRM, simply put, is “the ability for the crew…to manage all available resources effectively to ensure that the outcome of the flight is successful.”1 Those resources are numerous. Their management involves employing and honing those processes that consistently produce the best possible decisions. Advisory Circular 120-51E, Crew Resource Management Training, suggests that CRM training focus on “situation awareness, communication skills, teamwork, task allocation, and decision making within a comprehensive framework of standard operating procedures (SOP).”2
Aircrews frequently experience circumstances that require expert CRM skills to manage situations and ensure their successful outcomes. Effective CRM has proved to be a valuable tool to mitigate risk and should be practiced on every flight. This month CALLBACK shares ASRS reported incidents that exemplify both effective CRM and CRM that appears to be absent or ineffective.
Who Has the Aircraft?
Author Julian Guthrie Chronicles The Pioneering Flight Of Spaceshipone In How To Make A Spaceship
By Mark Rhodes
(Image courtesy Julian Guthrie, Penguin Books)New York Times Best-Selling Author Julian Guthrie’s recently released paperback version of How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight (Penguin Books) chronicles the unlikely partnership of several larger than life characters who, motivated by the promise of the $10 million “XPIZE” to be awarded to the first re-usable manned aircraft created and flown into space twice within a two week period. The result of this aspiration was SpaceShipOne; an experimental, air launched, rocket powered aircraft with suborbital flight capacity.
The initial flight on Dec. 17, 2003 (appropriately the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight) saw SpaceShipOne become the first privately built craft to achieve supersonic speed. Ms. Guthrie was nice enough to be interviewed by Mark Rhodes via email about the dream of civilian space flight; the characters that are the heart of her story, the role of NASA in these kind of endeavors and the future of private space flight.
IF USA: How long has the dream of private spaceflight been around?
JG: “Probably since the beginning of time, when humans looked at the night sky and wondered what was out there. Think about our earliest astronomers and scientists, whether Copernicus or Kepler or Galileo Galilei, with the questions posed and answers advanced. And look at the captivating science fiction of Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and many others. All of these storytellers fueled an interest in the great beyond. They certainly inspired the dreams of my book’s protagonist, Peter Diamandis. He was an avid reader of science fiction and set out to make science fiction science fact.”
Callback: What’s All The Flap About?
This month, CALLBACK again offers the reader a chance to “interact” with the information given in a selection of ASRS reports. In “The First Half of the Story,” you will find report excerpts describing an event up to a point where a decision must be made or some direction must be given. You may then exercise your own judgment to make a decision or determine a possible course of action that would best resolve the situation.
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 refine your aviation decision-making skills. In “The Rest of the Story…” you will find the actions that were 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, training, and discussion related to the type of incidents that were reported.
The First Half of the Story
What’s All the Flap? B737 First Officer’s Report
• As the Pilot Flying while maneuvering in the busy terminal area, I didn’t notice that the flap indicator did not match the [flap] handle (2 indicated, 30 selected) until the Captain identified it with the…Before Landing Checklist. We checked the Leading Edge Device [LED] indicator on the overhead panel; the LED’s [indicated] FULL EXTEND. We discussed how the aircraft felt as it was being hand flown. The feel was normal.… The airspeed indicator was normal. The aircraft flew normally in all aspects except for the flap indication. All this occurred approaching the final approach fix..
Safe Landings: Windshear
The windshear saga in American aviation history reveals a complex and costly past. Windshear has existed for as long as aviators have taken to the skies and is largely responsible for several classic aviation losses. Notable U.S. aviation accidents include Eastern Flight 66 (1975), Pan American Flight 759 (1982), and Delta Flight 191 (1985).
Windshear remained unrecognized for years. It was not clearly understood until swept wing, jet aircraft encountered the phenomenon. Since 1975, windshear has been researched and studied, measured, defined, catalogued, and rightly vilified. Technology has been developed to identify and minimize the threats that it poses. Procedures have been implemented to aid pilots who experience windshear in flight and flight crews invest hours of simulator training practicing windshear escape maneuvers.
Even with progress to date, windshear continues to be a worthy adversary to aviation professionals. It requires respect and wisdom to defeat. Pilots often must make decisions regarding known or anticipated windshear, and the best practice is always avoidance.
This month, CALLBACK shares reported incidents that reveal some means and extremes of windshear experienced in modern aviation. Lessons to be gleaned are ripe, rich, and many.
Teasing a Toronto Tailwind
After encountering windshear that resulted in an unstabilized approach, this A319 Captain elected to continue to a landing. He noted his awareness of the current winds and trends as well as his personal preparedness to go around as reasons for continuing the approach.
• After being delayed due to low ceilings in Toronto, we were finally descending…in heavy rain and moderate turbulence with clearance to 7,000 feet MSL. After a third 360 degree turn, we were…transferred to the Final Controller and proceeded inbound for the ILS RWY 05. The last several ATIS [reports] showed winds at approximately 090 to 100 [degrees] at 5 to 10 knots, and the Final Controller mentioned the same with an RVR of 6,000 plus feet for Runway 05. When cleared for the approach, we were at 3,000 feet MSL to intercept the glideslope, and I noticed the winds had picked up to a 50 knot direct tailwind. The First Officer was flying. We were assigned 160 knots and began to configure at approximately 2,000 feet AGL. At 1,500 feet the wind was a 30 knot direct tailwind and we had flaps 3. Indicated airspeed (IAS) had increased at this point [with] thrust at idle to 170-175 knots, prohibiting final flaps just yet. The First Officer did a great job aggressively trying to slow the aircraft, as we were concerned about getting a flaps 3 overspeed. As I knew from the ATIS and the Controllers (Tower now), the winds were to die off very soon to less than 10 knots. [Below] 1,000 feet we were just getting the airspeed to put in final flaps (full) and were finally stabilized and on speed between 500 to 800 feet. The winds were now at the reported 090 [degrees] at 8 knots or so [below] 500 feet. The total wind shift was approximately 90 degrees from direct tailwind to a right crosswind - losing 40 knots [of tailwind] in the space of 1,500 feet or so. The reasons I elected to continue the approach were:
1. We landed uneventfully in the touchdown zone and on speed…after breaking out before minimums.
Safe Landings: Controller Pilot Data Link Communications
Controller Pilot Data Link Communication Departure Clearance Services (CPDLC-DCL) is one segment of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) that has been recently implemented in the contiguous 48 states at local Tower Data Link Service (TDLS) equipped facilities to deliver departure clearances and revised departure clearances prior to takeoff.
As any new system is implemented, some “bugs” may be expected, and CPDLC-DCL is no exception. ASRS is receiving reports suggesting that crews are experiencing problems while using CPDLC-DCL for its intended objective. The problems that are experienced point to sources from system architecture, to precise meanings of specific words and formats used in the CPDLC-DCL syntax, to basic interpretation and understanding of the CPDLC-DCL information protocols and operational procedures.
This month, CALLBACK shares reported incidents of complications that arose from the crews’ use of CPDLC-DCL to obtain departure clearances and revised departure clearances. While CPDLC-DCL offers many improvements and advantages over voice and Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC), some issues remain as we transition to this new system. As these examples may hint, ideas will emanate from the cockpit and formal solutions will be devised.
Cautious Pilot Distrusts Link
Communications
This Air Carrier Crew clarified an initial question they had about a revised departure clearance. Curiosity over the revised SID and transition that had not been “properly” LOADED resulted in a route portion that was manually loaded but not included in the clearance.
• During preflight, we received a revised clearance via CPDLC. The change was from the TRALR6.DVC to the STAAV6.DVC. I verified [the] clearance and received a full-route clearance over the radio. When the LOAD feature was selected in CPDLC, the new revised route did not LOAD into the ROUTE page properly. It still showed [the] TRALR6.DVC, but now it had a discontinuity. At this point, I had to load the route manually. When I did load the STAAV SIX, however, I failed to select the DVC transition, [so the FMC] now had point STAAV direct to LAA in the LEGS page. When we did the route verification later, during the preflight, we both failed to detect the missing transition that included the points TRALR, NICLE, and DVC.
This went unnoticed until passing point STAAV on the departure. That is when ATC queried us if we were headed to point TRALR. We indicated to ATC that we were direct LAA. He re-cleared us to TRALR to resume the departure. There was nothing significant to report for the rest of the flight.
Author George Leopold gives NASA Pioneer Gus Grissom His Due in Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom
By Mark Rhodes
Author George Leopold’s biography of Astronaut Gus Grisson, Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom (Purdue University Press) is a thoughtful and comprehensive attempt to not only tell the story of Grissom’s life but most notably put Grissom’s accomplishments in context and perspective as one of the original seven NASA astronauts. Grissom, who died tragically during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1, is a unique figure in NASA lore and history in that he was one of the few astronauts to not fully “tell his story” in the form of a memoir.
Mr. Leopold, who writes frequently about the space program, methodically traces the arc of Grissom’s rise from small town in Indiana to enlisting at the end of World War II as a teenager in the embryonic U.S. Air Force then studying engineering at Purdue before ultimately re-enlisting in Korea where he saw action in the skies (interestingly enough, unlike several of his future astronaut peers, Grissom never had an official kill, as he primarily functioned as a wingman). Post Korea, Grissom distinguished himself as one of the first rank of American test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base.
Everything changed in Grissom’s life in 1957 when Sputnik was launched into space throwing the Cold War into a very high gear overnight. Grissom competed with over 100 exceptional and accomplished candidates to be one of the “Mercury Seven” astronauts. This distinguished group of American test pilots was thrust into immediate celebrity status thanks to flattering, gushing profiles in Life Magazine. Grissom was particularly uncomfortable with this development, as the work the test pilots did was hardly public knowledge and was in many instances top secret. Grissom also didn’t possess a high degree of the natural swagger and charisma of his peers (particularly John Glenn who was preternaturally media savvy). Despite this, Grissom became the second American in space and was part of the first man-maneuvered space flight as one of the astronauts in the Gemini program.
2016 Chicago Air & Water Show: Not Everything was in the Air
By Larry E. Nazimek
Astronaut Tim Kopra (NASA photo)There was a lot more to see than the flight demonstrations at the 58th Annual Chicago Air & Water Show. There are always booths from vendors, organizations, and the armed forces, but for the first time, NASA brought over several trailers with exhibits and employees from all of the NASA research centers.
We’ve all seen actual moon rocks, usually on displays inside of a pyramid-shaped glass display case, but in addition to one of these, there was a moon rock (taken by the Apollo 17 crew, the last manned trip to the moon) that visitors could actually touch!
No large NASA display would be complete without an astronaut on hand, and this exhibit included Astronaut Tim Kopra. Most people assume that all of NASA’s pilot astronauts have come from a background of high performance jet fighters, because that is what they have been accustomed to seeing, beginning with the Mercury 7 astronauts. Kopra, however, was a U. S. Army helicopter pilot who is a graduate of the Navy’s Test Pilot School at Patuxent River NAS, MD. He explained that all helicopter test pilots go there, as the Air Force Test Pilot School does not have this curriculum. During the course of his training, however, he got to fly several high-performance jets such as the F-16.
Safe Landings: The Pursuit and Presumption of Balance
Weight and balance has been a critical issue in aircraft operations since the beginning of aviation. Loading errors can go unnoticed and have potential to cause great harm. Clerical mistakes that account for cargo weight and location can be subtle and equally costly.
This month’s CALLBACK examines several reports that highlight weight and balance errors. In the following accounts, all the aircraft unknowingly departed with uncertain centers of gravity and most departed with an inaccurate gross weight that was assumed correct. Many of the mistakes were not discovered until the aircraft was airborne and some, not until the aircraft landed. Other similarities included unknown cargo weights and freight that was loaded in improper locations. These mistakes might have been prevented. The ASRS report excerpts reiterate the need for attentiveness and accuracy in every aspect of weight and balance procedures.
The first three reports describe incidents where cargo was loaded in the wrong location on the aircraft. The remaining accounts detail various other errors that were experienced in Air Carrier Operations.
The Usual Suspects
Cargo loaded into the wrong compartment and closeout paperwork that did not specify its location allowed this B737 Flight Crew to launch with an inaccurate Center of Gravity (CG) that was not discovered until after the aircraft landed.
Safe Landings: February 2015
Inside the Gentle Giant
By David Brown
Imposing from any viewpoint, the Super Guppy can carry an amazing variety of shapes inside its 25 ft wide, 25 ft high, and 96 ft long cargo compartment. Based on the Boeing Stratocruiser and modified with a greatly enlarged fuselage, turboprop engines, reinforced landing gear, and a side-opening cargo nose, this is the only flying example of the five Super Guppies built. (NASA)When a giant turboprop cargo plane recently droned into Long Beach in Southern California, it marked the latest chapter in a fascinating tale.
When NASA needed to move a large box-shaped structure some 30 ft long and of 10,000lb weight across country from Southern California to NASA Langley in Virginia, they did not have to look far. As it happens, NASA owns and operates the sole remaining operational Turbine Super Guppy (out of the five built during the ‘60s to carry outsize pieces of cargo). The Super Guppy (NASA 941) is currently based at the NASA facility in El Paso, Tex., and flew from there to the west coast to pick up its cargo. The payload on this occasion was a composite, double-deck multi-bay box made for NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project. This test article represents a 75 percent scale version of the center section of a hybrid wing-body aircraft (think of a scaled-up X-48, flown at NASA Dryden some years ago) but now built of a lightweight, damage tolerant stitched-composite structural concept dubbed PRSEUS (Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure) built by Boeing Research and Technology in Huntington Beach, Calif. and assembled in Long Beach. The innovative structure comprises carbon-epoxy panels, which are infused with resin and cured by vacuum pressure without having to use a large autoclave, which would normally be required.
Safe Landings: January 2015
“The Airplane was still in a Descent with Full Power”
Faced with little IFR experience, poor CRM, and airframe icing, the pilots of a Rockwell 112 were lucky to break out into conditions that would allow the ice to dissipate. Among the lessons this incident highlights are the need for an adverse weather “escape plan,” and the value of building actual instrument time with a qualified instructor until proficiency is attained.
• Sunset was imminent, this area of the country was new to me, and the more things changed for the worse, the more interest I had in parking the airplane and just spending the night in a hotel.
Always leave an out. The area over the airport…was in IMC. Ordinarily this would not have been an issue. The AWOS indicated a 1,500-foot ceiling. Things were going smoothly then at 6,000 feet, with no control input to cause a descent rate of more than 500 feet per minute, my VFR rated passenger told me that we were descending (I could see that and was trying to process why we were descending). He further stated that I needed to “fly the airplane.” Then he took the controls and pulled back on the yoke. The attitude indicator shifted to a very sharp indication of a left turn. The descent rate increased to about 1,500 feet per minute. I could not over power this person. I told him, “The airplane was flying a minute ago; let the airplane continue to fly.” He let go of the controls. I reiterated that announcing, “Your airplane/my airplane” prior to manipulating any controls was a requirement when flying with me.
Safe Landings: December 2014
Safe Landings: November 2014
Non-Towered Aircraft Operations
At an airport without an operational control tower, sometimes referred to as an “uncontrolled” airport, communication is one of the key elements in maintaining proper aircraft separation. Use of the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) helps to assure the safe, orderly flow of arrival and departure traffic. FAR 91.113 cites basic right-of-way rules and FAR 91.126 establishes traffic-flow rules at non-towered airports. The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) and FAA Advisory Circular 90-66A expand on these regulations to define procedures for operations at non-towered airports. Staying visually alert is the final measure of defense against aircraft that may be operating without a radio or without regard to the standard non-towered airport procedures. The following ASRS reports highlight some of the problems commonly associated with non-towered airport operations.
Unexpected Opposition – Two Opposite Runway Takeoff Incidents
A C680 Flight Crew had to abort their takeoff when an aircraft made an unannounced departure on the opposite runway. It is not known if the “other airplane” failed to use a radio or did not have one. For aircraft without a radio installed, the use of a hand-held transceiver is highly recommended at busy non-towered airports.
Safe Landings: October 2014
Fuel Management Errors
Fuel management errors continue to account for a significant percentage of the General Aviation forced landing incidents reported to ASRS. However, since fuel exhaustion and fuel starvation events often result in significant aircraft damage and personal injury, an even greater number of fuel management errors result in NTSB accident reports.
The following ASRS reports offer sobering lessons from pilots who have “been there, done that” and, fortunately, survived to share their experiences. Top off your fuel management wisdom by learning from these fuel management mishaps.
In a Position to Fail
This Twin Piper pilot learned that “close” is not good enough when it comes to positioning fuel tank selector switches.
■ While flying solo on an IFR flight plan in a rental Twin Piper approximately 20 nautical miles to the east of my destination, I was cleared to descend from 8,000 feet to 6,000 feet. At this time, I was in IMC with light rain. As part of routine pre-landing checks, I switched both left and right tanks from Auxiliary to Main. As I was reaching 6,000 feet, the right engine started to run rough for a few seconds and subsequently failed. Since I was in the landing phase of the flight, there was no time to complete the “cause check” procedure. When ATC asked me to maintain altitude, I responded, “Unable” and explained that I was on one engine only. At this time, I was in VMC. I squawked 7700, declared an emergency, and requested vectors to the nearest airport. ATC vectored me to a nearby field, advised that I could land on any runway, and switched me to Tower frequency. Tower immediately cleared me to land. I maintained a safe airspeed, lowered the landing gear and flaps, and landed uneventfully. The next day, I found that although the fuel selector had been set to the Main position, the engine was still drawing fuel from the auxiliary tank, which had eventually emptied and led the engine to fail due to fuel starvation. Apparently, the fuel selector valve had not been positioned completely in its detent position (close, but had not “clicked”). This incident was a good lesson learned, and I have become more alert and diligent to ensure the fuel selector valves are properly positioned when using them to switch between tanks.
NASA's Orion Spacecraft Stacks Up for First Flight
The Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1 is shown in the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell, positioned over the service module just prior to mating the two sections together. The FAST cell is where the integrated crew and service modules are put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with its rocket. Technicians are in position to assist with the final alignment steps once the crew module is nearly in contact with the service module. In Dec., Orion will launch 3,600 miles into space on a four-hour flight to test the systems that will be critical for survival in future human missions to deep space. (NASA/Rad Sinyak)With just six months until its first trip to space, NASA’s Orion spacecraft continues taking shape at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Engineers began stacking the crew module on top of the completed service module Monday, the first step in moving the three primary Orion elements––crew module, service module and launch abort systems – into the correct configuration for launch.
“Now that we’re getting so close to launch, the spacecraft completion work is visible every day,” said Mark Geyer, NASA’s Orion Program manager. “Orion’s flight test will provide us with important data that will help us test out systems and further refine the design, so we can safely send humans far into the solar system to uncover new scientific discoveries on future missions.”
Interview: Andy Weir Spins a Riveting Tale of Survival and Space Travel in The Martian
By S. Mark Rhodes
The Martian (Crown) by Andy Weir is the story of a regular guy who happens to be an amazingly resourceful astronaut who is stranded on Mars with limited resources and mainly limited time as his resources are finite, and he finds himself facing certain death if he doesn’t figure out a way to survive and get help from NASA back on earth. The novel, a New York Times Bestseller, told mainly through log entries is one of the most riveting science fiction tales in many years and has created some motion picture buzz. Mr. Weir, a former software engineer, has a talent for technological detail and innovative storytelling, and has built a very appealing character in his stranded astronaut Mark Watney. Mr. Weir was nice enough to correspond via email about his work, the technology of the book, and how he created his tale.
IF USA: What was the origin of the plot behind The Martian?
AW: “I was daydreaming about how a manned mission to Mars would work. I wanted to be as realistic as possible in the mission design. I knew the mission would have to account for problems that could happen, so I started thinking up things that could go wrong. I realized that those problem scenarios would make a cool story, so I made a hapless main character and subjected him to all of them.”
Safe Landings - June 2014
Message from the Editor: Though these incidents are all airline related, the systems involved are now also used in GA and could cause accidents.
Autoflight control modes generally involve interrelated functions of the Flight Management System (FMS), the flight director, the autopilot and autothrottles. The mode logic controlling the combined input of these systems can be very complex. Despite focus on design improvements and training emphasis on flight management modes, ASRS continues to receive a significant number of incident reports on mode related errors. While they usually result in minor “altitude busts” or crossing restrictions not met, mode errors can also lead to more serious outcomes including Controlled Flight Toward Terrain (CFTT).
Safe Landings - April 2014
Skies to Stars: Moon Walk
By Ed Downs
To be Sure, this writer is a geek, and nothing churns my mind as much as does the thought to taking a walk on the moon. Well, NASA is now making that possible, or at least nearly so. Many readers may not know that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the moon, taking pictures at a rate that even Google would envy. And, as a taxpayer entity, NASA is making these photos available to the general public, at a resolution that can place one nearly on the surface. The following NASA News Release contains the detail of this interactive adventure and we at In Flight USA invite you to take the cross country of a life time and visit our nearest celestial neighbor at http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/gigapan. Enjoy the trip!
NASA Releases First Interactive Mosaic of Lunar North Pole
Spectacular LROC Northern Polar Mosaic (LNPM) allows exploration from 60ªN up to the pole at the astounding pixel scale of two meters. (NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)Scientists, using cameras aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), have created the largest high-resolution mosaic of our moon’s north polar region. The six-and-a-half feet (two-meters)-per-pixel images cover an area equal to more than one-quarter of the United States.
Web viewers can zoom in and out, and pan around an area. Constructed from 10,581 pictures, the mosaic provides enough detail to see textures and subtle shading of the lunar terrain. Consistent lighting throughout the images makes it easy to compare different regions.
GSA, NASA Competitively Select Planetary Ventures LLC to Begin Lease Negotiations for Rehabilitation of Hangar One and Use of Moffett Federal Airfield
(Photo courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center)The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA have selected Planetary Ventures LLC as the preferred lessee on a lease to rehabilitate historic Hangar One and to manage Moffett Federal Airfield, currently managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The lease will put Hangar One to new use and eliminate NASA’s management costs of the airfield.
GSA’s Request for Proposals (RFP), issued on behalf of NASA in May 2013, kicked off a competitive process in which the private sector was provided an opportunity to collaborate with the government in rehabilitation and 
(Photo courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center)adaptive reuse of NASA’s historic Hangar One and management of the airfield through a long-term lease agreement.