Approach articles from August 2003

Approach archives from August 2003

Two landings for the price of one antenna.(cockpit resource management failure for helicopter )
August 1, 2003... It was a bright, sunny, Southern California day, and I was the third copilot on a single-point, external-training flight in the Camp Pendleton Training Area. I looked forward to getting more stick time in the mighty Super Stallion. Our HAC's...

Living on the edge.(naval pilot lands safety in spite of inclement weather )
August 1, 2003... The flight was your standard man-up for a good-deal night trap. My Hornet was parked on the four row, waiting for a yellowshirt so I could taxi to the cat. It was a humid night, and the temperature must have hit the dew point because fog hit...

Just another standard flight.(dirty tips, known configurations and deteriorating weather)
August 1, 2003... Our mission was a standard, night-SEAD from our home base in Atsugi, Japan. I was the second-most junior ECMO in the squadron, and I was in the front seat with the most junior pilot. We had a more experienced Cat. I ECMO in the back, along with...

Those things didn't scare me.(experiences of a T-34 instructor)
August 1, 2003... I loved my tour in the training command as a T-34 instructor. It was challenging and extremely rewarding. We flew day in and day out, including an occasional Saturday to meet our pilot-training rate. While I didn't set any flight-time records,...

Get-home-itis almost got the XO.(Crew-Resource Management)(hurry home urge)
August 1, 2003... I hate to tell this story, in part, because after flying more than 18 years in two communities, I would have thought I had attended enough safety stand-downs, read enough Approach articles, and heard enough ready-room chatter on how not to...

Don't be an airhead.(malfunction of oxygen gauge recognized)(Mishap-Free Milestones)
August 1, 2003... Remember those aviation-indoctrination days? We gathered in the hypobaric-chamber building and received the boring physiology briefs, while we tried to stay caffeinated and alert. We heard about fatigue, the effects of alcohol, and the hook...

My midnight swim.(mishap on helicopter approach )
August 1, 2003... It was a dark, moonless night... no, really, it was! My crew launched on what was supposed to be a double bag in support of JTFEX with a ship. I was flying left seat as an H2P. Our mission was to find and "kill" a sub that was tasked to...

Falling from Montana.(safe emergency landing after loss of wheel and tire assembly)
August 1, 2003... "Montana 430, we think something just fell off your plane," called tower. Not exactly something you hear from the tower every day, but I wasn't concerned when I heard it. We had seen numerous close encounters with birds that day, a common...

The original plan.(safe landing after hypoxia mishap)
August 1, 2003... A good deal, cross-country flight from Lemoore to Oceana was the original plan. What happened on that trip caused the scare of my life and was the closest I have come to death. Time weather en route to Oceana was forecast to be good, and I...

Bravo Zulu.(crew swap prevents emergency)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... During a crew swap to Proud Warrior 431, AW2 Matthew Jirrels discovered the pressure-differential indicator (PDI) for the main-gearbox filter was activated. A check of the indicator is not required by NATOPS during a hotseat event. Left...

How'd you simulate that?(Naval Air Training & Operating Procedure & Standard)(safe landing after propeller malfunctions )
August 1, 2003... Annual pilot-NATOPS checks in the mighty Orion are a constant barrage of simulated malfunctions, mixed liberally with NATOPS-knowledge questions. Throughout, we are expected to proficiently operate the aircraft, while "driving" the scenario...

No-gyro approach on a dark night.(pilot's hurry and lack of care causes emergency)
August 1, 2003... Some dark nights never are forgotten--no horizon, no moon, and the low-altitude haze kept us from seeing any stars. If ever there was an IMC night at the boat, this was the one. I was a newly minted carrier-aircraft plane commander (CAPC)...

Low carbohydrate diets: asset or liability?
August 1, 2003... "You don't know what you are talking about," said the young lieutenant, sitting through my stress and human-performance class. He was referring to my counter-argument about the efficacy of low-carbohydrate diets. Later, I found out he was on...

Dude, wake up!(pilot safety in terms of dehydration and sleep deprivation)
August 1, 2003... Were scheduled for a double-cycle flight in the mighty Hawkeye on another routine day at sea. We briefed as red-air control for an air-defense, war-at-sea exercise on our first cycle and blue-air control of a 4 v 2 on our second cycle. The...

When to say when.(A good pilot knows when the safety threshold is passed before take-off)
August 1, 2003... When would you call it quits? On a recent cross-country, I asked myself just that question. It was a good-deal hop down to sunny San Diego for the weekend. We were to leave on Thursday, but a routine inspection on our Prowler revealed the right...

Watch your head!(pilot and aircraft safety in terms of complacency, situational awareness and multi-tasking)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Sometimes it's OK to tell on yourself. I was in the port helo hangar doing a pilot weekly inspection. One of the inspections required removal of the tail-rotor, drive-shaft cowlings. I completed all the items for the tail rotors I could and...

Classic brownshoes in action comix.(Ward Carroll)
August 1, 2003... "The kind real aviators like" "The dream is always the same." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Off the cat, I see King Neptune beckoning to me on the horizon. I fly into his gentle grasp and sink beneath the surface... " [ILLUSTRATION...

Ready room gouge.(Igor Ivanovitch Sikorsky quote about helicopters)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... "The helicopter is probably the most versatile instrument ever invented by man. It approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of the flying horse and the magic carpet." --Igor Ivanovitch Sikorsky, comment...