Approach articles from January 2006

Approach archives from January 2006

The high risk.
January 1, 2006... Midairs and Near-Midairs DoD Instruction 6055.7 defines "midair" as "a collision between aircraft or UAV when intent for flight exists." This definition is universally accepted among all of the services. We had 13 midairs in naval aviation...

Can you believe it?(midair collisions)
January 1, 2006... We felt a slight hot and humid breeze from the northwest. The heat index on the flight deck hovered around 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and it only would get hotter once the Air Boss called away engine starts. The carrier would have to create its...

The bright lights of Vegas.(Midairs Near-Midairs)
January 1, 2006... The desert heat and sun instantly hit me as I stepped out of the Hawkeye. I was joining my squadron during the middle of what already had become a challenging detachment: the famous Red Flag exercise at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev....

I almost hit a dolphin: while I leveled the wings, I saw the helicopter pass down our right side. He still was in a hover at the approach end of the runaway, and I was at eye level with his main rotor.
January 1, 2006... We had a quiet night for our two night-contact T-34 flights. The weather was clear, with unlimited visibility--good conditions for my student's first VFR flight at night. He was in the front cockpit. After a sunset takeoff, we climbed to...

Divert to Shemya: the flight engineer predicted it only was a matter of time before the prop low-oil light would come on.
January 1, 2006... After completing a successful tsunami-relief detachment from Atsugi, Japan, we boarded our C-130 for the first leg of our flight home to NAF Washington at Andrews Air Force Base. As the det OinC, I commended the 22 crew members on how well our...

Before and after.(ORM Corner)(air force)(Column)
January 1, 2006... The lion's share of work in a successful flight is spent in preflight: studying, flight planning, weather briefing, and working out every logistical and operational detail, no matter how small. A critical but underappreciated part of the brief...

What did he say?(United States)(military naval-aviation operations)(Lieutenant Taylor George)
January 1, 2006... It was a cold, clear, dark night in the dead of a January winter off the Virginia Capes. The fleet replacement squadrons (FRS) from Oceana and Norfolk were flying carrier quals on USS George Washington (CVN-73). That night, I witnessed an event...

We've blown ze tires.(air force)(Column)
January 1, 2006... Fleet-replacement-squadron (FRS) requirements always seem to conflict with good ORM analysis by evolving into a "get the 'X' no matter what it takes" attitude. I was getting ready to fly my first night formation in the EA-6B FRS, and our event...

Stupid chocolate cake.(air force)(Column)
January 1, 2006... This story takes place during a weekend in March 2004. I was the safety officer at VF-31, and we were deep in the heart of our work-up cycle for a summer WestPac deployment. The squadron maintenance officer (MO) and I finally had a plan for...

Sandbagging.(Crew Resource Management: Situational Awareness: Assertiveness: Decision Making: Communication: Leadership: Adaptability/Flexibility: Mission Analysis)
January 1, 2006... The routine of cruise was well-entrenched, and the days were starting to blend together. Missions flown in support of Operation Southern Watch had been going on for some time, and everyday events were becoming mundane. The situation would...

Bravo Zulu.
January 1, 2006... The crew of Jailbird 45 was conducting a night general-support mission during Operation Iraqi Freedom. They departed Al Taqaddum airfield, in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq, under low-light-level conditions with 11 passengers, which put the...

Gold cup roll.
January 1, 2006... The Model 367-80, known by its designers as the Dash 80, roars over Lake Washington at 400 feet and 400 knots. The graceful swept-wing prototype airliner pitches up, rolls inverted and then upright, amazing the thousands of spectators that have...

2 out of 3 ain't bad.
January 1, 2006... Here's a pop quiz for you hot-shot aviators. How many of you do a thorough review of your unsafe-gear EPs when going out to do a functional check flight (FCF) on a jet for an engine swap? I don't. Our event started as any other FCF at the...