ADM presentation ideas

jrh

jrh

Well-Known Member
I was recently asked to give a presentation to the local EAA chapter on aeronautical decision making. The chapter consists of mostly private pilots. A few have instrument ratings, but rarely fly IFR. Most have day jobs outside of aviation and just fly for recreation or personal transportation on the weekends. Most have either built their own plane or own a share in a single engine piston of some sort (in other words, not many rent).

I was thinking I'd like to discuss the top three or four or five ways that this demographic of pilots gets into trouble. I could lead a group discussion based on some accident reports--cover what went wrong and how the accident could have been prevented.

Some of the areas I've thought about would be:

Fuel exhaustion
VFR into IMC
Loss of control (crosswind landings without much recent experience, etc.)
Hazardous attitudes (anti-authority, invincible, etc.)

What else could I cover? Sometimes it's hard for me to put myself into the shoes of these pilots. I'm so used to training, instructing, and working towards the next step in the career ladder, that I forget about what it's like to be a weekend warrior, VFR-only type of pilot. I want to cover the big areas that these guys are most at risk for.

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Poor pre-flight planning.
Lack of recurrent training.
Oh and I suspect that many flight reviews get pencil whipped. Just a guess.
 
desertdog71 said:
Poor pre-flight planning.
Lack of recurrent training.
Oh and I suspect that many flight reviews get pencil whipped. Just a guess.
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You've been in this for like...a couple months.and already you're an expert ;)

good job, Double Dizzle. :nana2:
 
slushie said:
You've been in this for like...a couple months.and already you're an expert ;)

good job, Double Dizzle. :nana2:
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Wow, where did that come from?
Care to elaborate as to why my sugestions are invalid?
 
desertdog71 said:
Wow, where did that come from?
Care to elaborate as to why my sugestions are invalid?
Click to expand...
duuuude.
I'm just pointing out that you've gelled quite nicely into the aviation world.

Love,
Slushie
 
I was thinking I'd like to discuss the top three or four or five ways that this demographic of pilots gets into trouble.
Click to expand...

How about talking about the top way that all pilots of every skill level get into trouble?

That would be inability to make the NO GO decision when the situation calls for it.

Private pilots are put in the position of making many more critical decisions than the average airline captain. That's because to every extent possible the need to make decisions or judgment calls has been removed from airline operations. That is why they are so much safer than other branches of aviation.

Private pilots can take advantage of this to make their own operations safer:

First, no pilot should have an emotional attachment to completing the mission. If a pilot finds himself in a position where he/she finds it upsetting to not get to B today or they feel pressured in any way, then they need to stop right there and deal with that. It's a frame of mind that is guaranteed to lead to bad decisions.

Secondly, as much as possible judgment needs to be taken out of the equation. Every pilot should know their personal and their aircraft's limitations and adhere to them. Above crosswind limits (personally or aircraft) NO GO. Visibility is a mile less than your personal limit for VFR cross country, NO GO.

The best way to approach every flight is to make sure you would feel at ease not completing the flight as planned. In other words make the NO GO decision first, then build a case for the GO decision. Do this throughout the flight constantly looking for factors that would support diverting and be always comfortable and ready to land short of destination. Then if no red flags come up, pleasant surprise, you arrive safely at destination.

This exercise helps to counter the tendency that all pilots have to complete the mission despite good reasons not to. And of course as pilot ability and airplane capability is enhanced there are fewer and fewer reasons to stop the operation. But if you can't easily make the NO GO decision when it's called for you aren't really the Pilot In Command.
 
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