Flying is as dangerous as we make it, and by that I’m implying that pilots are generally the weakest link in the accident chain. The majority of accidents are often the result of pilot error. Now, I’m not implying that airplanes don’t break, (because they often do) but I’ve seen too many accident reports that could and should have been avoided based on how the pilot reacted to the situation.
Within the realm of flight simulation, you’ll never experience an emergency situation unless you choose to. I can’t stress to you enough to make that choice. In day to day flying, you never know what you’ll have to deal with and I strongly encourage you not to limit your experiences.
This tragic accident occurred at my (now) home airport a few years back. I wasn’t based there at the time and heard about this accident from the local news station but my understanding of it was that immediately after take off, the baggage door swung open.
Now, for anyone who has ever experienced this, we know this is not a time critical problem. The wind should hold the door almost all the way closed and the corrective action should be to land the airplane and then solve the problem on the ground. Unfortunately, this is not what followed. I don’t know all the details, but the aircraft crashed just short of the runway, resulting in the fatalities of everyone on board.
We can only assume that the baggage door became so much of a distraction that the pilot sadly got distracted and forgot the number one rule:
AVIATE NAVIGATE COMMUNICATE
Ironically, I was taking off out of that same airport earlier this week, when a similar incident happened. I had a brand new student with me on his first flight lesson. We had just departed runway 20 and were climbing out to the west.
During the process, I noticed that out our Cessna 152’s seemingly roomy cabin had developed a nice draft coming from my student’s side. As calmly as a Senior Airline Captain would inform the passengers of an ATC delay, he informed me that his door had popped open and asked me what the recommended procedure was as well as offered to grab the POH and check.
I actually froze for just a second… Not because of the situation at hand bust because I had a student 0.2 hours into his flying career who had not only done his homework, had listened and followed my departure briefing exactly, but also was sitting there, inches away from a door that was open and swinging out in the wind, and wasn’t doing what the majority of people would do; panic and try to slam it closed. Following our safe return I sat down to de-brief the lesson with him and commend him for his judgement.
Conclusion
– Recognize that there are two categories of emergencies: Time Critical and Non. Be able to distinguish between the two and remember to FLY THE AIRPLANE before anything else!
– Know your aircraft’s POH and the emergency procedures prescribed. When something goes wrong, that is not the time to grab the checklist and ask yourself what to do.
Remember, in real life flying, you only get one chance. No do-overs.
Throttle On!
Mathew Young
Cincinnati, OH
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