November 2004 –
Seventy percent of runway incursions happen to General Aviation pilots. Getting lost at an airport when you are trying to taxi is not limited to GA aircraft, it is just that there are so many of us and we usually operate without the help of a copilot.
With over 650,000 pilots and 240,000 aircraft in this country it is amazing that we don’t have more runway incursion accidents and incidents. In other words, most of us are doing a good job when it comes to having situational awareness and running a professional cockpit.
Unfortunately, the numbers of incursions, conflicts and outright accidents have risen and the FAA is concerned. They have recently sent a package to all CFIs including an instructional DVD, a pamphlet and the usual long-winded bureaucratic letter.
The DVD, “Heads Up, Hold Short, Fly Right” is a fairly short work, skillfully done, that is narrated by Patty Wagstaff. If your local CFI will lend it to you I suggest you watch it. If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the aerobatic part in the beginning.
The entire FAA program, which can be accessed via an Internet link, is something that we in the airline world have been doing for years.
The Big Four
There are really four serious safety concerns that both the airline and the General Aviation aircraft face.
• Weather
• Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)
• Runway Incursions
• Mid-Air Collisions
Of the big four, the most prevalent problem is runway safety. The environment you find at all airports has become more complex than ever. Aircraft utilization, especially in the airline world, has increased, but the number of airports has not. More airplanes on the same amount of concrete leads to more conflicts.
The FAA’s program encourages CFIs to include more judgment training and situational awareness (SA) into their syllabi. In airline flight training we have a simulator session during our initial and recurrent training called a “LOFT” check. This stands for “Line Oriented Flight Training.”
It is a flight leg, run in real time (we don’t stop the simulator or fast forward it) that presents the flight crew with one or two operational problems. Usually there is some sort of equipment abnormality (or as Boeing calls it: “non-normal”) combined with really crappy weather.
The outcome of the exercise can go various ways depending on the awareness and the decisions of the flight crew. For example, as captain, I may elect to divert, declare an emergency or simply fly to my destination. The whole session is videotaped and is debriefed in detail. Many General Aviation training programs include this sort of thing and I really recommend getting that training if you can.
Cockpit Resource Management isn’t just for airline crews. Even though it sounds like an oxymoron, single pilot CRM is more important than you might think. As you taxi in or out at an airport as a single pilot your attention can be divided in a dozen different ways. That is why the FAA and I recommend that you run a sterile cockpit.
A Sterile Cockpit? I know, I hate the term, too. All a sterile cockpit means is that while you are in critical phases of flight, you pay attention to the important stuff. This means no non-operational conversation, no announcements to the passengers, not doing checklists when the aircraft is moving and strict attention to the communications radios.
Running a sterile cockpit is tough enough in a 767 with a professional co-pilot it is very hard when your Aunt Mary is in the right seat and wants to talk to you about her bypass surgery while you are trying to find taxiway alpha. You have to be nice, but firm about the sterile cockpit. It is a real lifesaver.
The FAA doesn’t define exactly where a sterile cockpit begins and ends. We airline people have a sterile cockpit from pushback until passing through ten thousand feet. I’d suggest that you remain “sterile” at least until you leave the airport traffic area.
There are two disadvantages that General Aviation pilots have that airline and military transport pilots don’t have. First, General Aviation pilots don’t have copilots, second, they don’t routinely go into the airports they are trying to navigate around. If you land me at JFK, I can find my way around without a taxi chart (although I always keep it handy) because I’ve been there so often.
Most of the airports that airline and military crews go to they visit on a regular basis. Your world is much more complex, with literally hundreds of additional airports, many of which are uncontrolled. Which means: Get Out Your Taxi Chart and Use It.
If you operate your aircraft IFR you already have a taxi chart with your approach plates. If you are a VFR person you’ll need an airport diagram. The airport diagram is not a “nice to have” item, it is a “must have.”
Before you even start your engine or get your taxi clearance, you should listen to the ATIS if there is one available, and mentally get a picture of the airport and your route to the active. At uncontrolled airports you are in charge of collision avoidance. At controlled airports you are still in charge of your safety but you have some very professional help from our buddies at ATC.
Here are a few hints for taxiing at a controlled airport. Get the ATIS before you start your engine and review your airport diagram. Always write down your taxi (and other) clearances and do so with your airplane at a stop. Don’t try to write and taxi at the same time. It is a sure way to mess up either the clearance or to bend metal. Verify your clearance. I always read it back to ATC. For example: “Piper One Kilo Golf, taxi to runway Two-Four Right via Taxiway Fox, Echo and Alpha. Hold short of Runway Two-Four Left on Alpha.” A plain old, “roger” won’t do it. Repeat the clearance. That way if you miss part of it your buddy at ATC can help you out.
Read back all runway hold short instructions. This is a biggie. The FAA expects you to read back, verbatim, their hold-short instructions including your call sign. Again, a “roger” simply won’t do. Your correct response would be: Piper One Kilo Golf, hold short of Runway Two-Four Left.”
When you get your crossing clearance it is important that you read that back, including your call sign, as well. As in: “Piper One Kilo Golf cleared to cross Runway Two-Four Left.”
Simple Is As Simple Does
These procedures sound a little simplistic but you’d be surprised at how many so-called professionals mess them up. They are vitally important if you want to avoid bending metal and attending NTSB hearings. Repetition and a professional attitude will do nothing but increase your safety.
After a while procedures like these will become second nature. Once you are “in the groove” you’ll be able to more easily recognize when things aren’t quite right.
Some Radio Tips
Good radio techniques are a key to your safety. First, do what your Kindergarten teacher no doubt told you: listen before you talk. A little courtesy at a very busy airport goes a long way to cut down on people stepping on each other’s transmissions.
Next, try to listen to and be aware of what other pilots are being told by ATC and what they are saying in return. This will give you a “big picture” outlook that will improve your situational awareness and might solve a conflict before one occurs. Did ATC really clear you to cross that runway right after clearing that other aircraft to take off from the same runway?
Stay sterile. A sterile cockpit will make your chore of listening to and talking on the radio much safer and simpler.
Follow the Signs
Taxiway and airport markings and signs are covered very well in the Aeronautical Information Manual starting at page “AIM Color Figures 2-3-3. This section shows you all the airport markings and signage in living color and makes a great review.
The FAA provides a few tips for remembering what the signs mean:
• “Black Square, You’re There”
Anything with a black background is telling you that you are at that location.
• “Yellow Array Points the Way”
Yellow signs show you routes to and from places on the airport.
• “Red and White, Runway(s) in Sight”
Red and white markings denote hold short points on the airport—very important.
Wind Your Clock
When it comes to runway safety and taxi operations I always paraphrase advice that old captains have been giving to new airline pilots for generations: “When there is a problem, take the time to wind your cockpit clock before doing anything.” This means that there is nothing that can happen in an aircraft that can’t be better handled in a methodical, almost slow, manner. Getting in a big hurry can compound a problem and get you into big trouble.
You control the pace of your aircraft’s operation. Take some time, don’t get in a hurry and when you do act, do so in a professional manner. When in doubt about anything, stop for a minute and ask. ATC would much rather repeat a clearance than fill out the paperwork that an accident entails.
If you are totally confused, there is no shame in asking for a “progressive” taxi clearance. This is a taxi clearance where ATC gives you step by step instructions to find your way to or from the runway. While it is a good thing that the FAA is providing this new information on runway safety, it is very important to remember that it is your job to be safe. After all, as a pilot, you are always the first one to the scene of an aircraft accident.
Kevin Garrison’s aviation career began at age 15 as a lineboy in Lakeland, Fla. He came up through General Aviation and is currently a senior 767 captain. When not frightening passengers, Kevin plays tennis and lives on a horse farm in Kentucky where he writes unsold humor projects and believes professional wrestling is real and all else is bogus.
