Approach articles from May 2004

Approach archives from May 2004

Toward the goal ... reducing mishaps by 50%.(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... Spatial disorientation (SD) is a normal response of a normal human to the abnormal environment of flight. Humans are terrestrial born and bred, and the systems that orient us to up and down are designed to work when we are attached firmly to...

How are we doing?(Flight Mishaps)(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... Here's information on our safety status as we work toward the goal. Class-A Flight Mishaps (FY04 thru 8 Apr) Service Total/Rate FY03 FY04 Goal * FY05 Goal * thru 8 Apr. USN: 8/1.51 14/2.35...

Mishap-free milestones.(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... VP-10 31 years 197,000 hours VAQ-139 12 years 19,430 hours HS-8 23 years 73,500 hours HS-14 9 years 31,000 hours VP-10 22 years 125,000 hours HSL-41 21 years 120,000 hours VP-40 37 years...

Work zone reducing mishaps by 50%: spatial disorientation training.
May 1, 2004... Do you know what the SD training requirements are? Are you getting the training you need? Here's information from our aeromedical staff for easy reference. * OPNAVINST 3710.7S, the NATOPS General Flight and Operating Instructions...

SD happens only to the other guy.(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... Accidents always seem to happen to the other guy. How could a good pilot, who's a great stick, be lured into the trap of losing reference to his or her surroundings and end up crashing with no knowledge of impending doom? Where was the...

Can we prevent SD? The tactile-situation-awareness system.(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... Spatial disorientation (SD) and its effects and remedies have been discussed repeatedly over the years in every ready room; yet, we continue to lose aircraft and lives. Based on accident rates for the Air Force, Navy, and Army, SD mishaps...

Welcome to OZ.(Spatial Disorientation)(Column)
May 1, 2004... "Quite possibly I believe, OZ may represent the most significant step forward in instrument flying since Elmer Sperry invented the artificial horizon in the 1920s." That is the opinion John Sheridan expressed in his article on OZ, published in...

The RadAlt is on!(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... Our detachment had been together for a short time, and we quickly were burning through the work-up cycle. Our OinC checked in just before week-one work-ups, and we worked hard to get through all of the wickets before deployment. Our detachment...

Vertigo on the ball: the rolling sensation started as I passed through platform and never stopped.(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... I had heard the vertigo stories: It feels like you're spinning in circles, or in a constant angle of bank, unable to differentiate between upright and inverted. I, however, was a vertigo virgin, until one night during Operation Enduring...

I think I have the leans.(Spatial Disorientation)
May 1, 2004... Unaided approaches to and landings on to small decks at night aren't necessarily difficult, but they can be dangerous. In the HSL community, we regularly practice this core competency as a prerequisite for NVG-deck currency. Any helicopter...

A little bit of tension: we looked at each other, instantly remembering that not a week earlier, the deck had launched an S-3 without receiving a salute from the pilot.
May 1, 2004... We were sitting on the deck of USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) off the coast of Japan. The weather was standard, with a broken layer at 3,000 feet. The seas were six to 12 feet, which made the boat bob like a cork. It was my fourth at-sea period, flying...

ORM corner: not the preferred option, but ...(squadron)(Operational Risk Management)
May 1, 2004... This account is not unique in its operating environment: personnel from every active-duty HMLA squadron and the fleet replacement squadron (FRS) engaged enemy forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On April 4, 2003, we were Dash 2 of a...

Go ahead, have a drink.
May 1, 2004... Summer in South Texas--what could be better? I mean, the fishing is good, the beer is cold, and South Padre Island is kickin'. OK, the heat is oppressive, the days are long, and Corpus approach occasionally calls out radar contact on the...

Where'd the boat go?(heavy fog)
May 1, 2004... If you have been off the Virginia Capes operating area in January, then you know how bad the fog can get. I'm talking fog so thick you can cut it. That's exactly the kind of weather we experienced during a JTFX. The night before our...

A normal flight with a sandy ending: marshal set us up for a Case II recovert because the sandstorm brewing over Iraq hadn't reached the Arabian gulf with its full intensity.
May 1, 2004... I was the radar operator on a mission over Iraq during the early, critical phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. My Hawkeye crew of five was providing the critical link between the troops on the ground and their airborne support. Scheduled for 4.7...

Single seat: but not alone.(Crew Resource Management)
May 1, 2004... As a nugget, I've found I learn something new every hop. Sometimes the lessons are small, and sometimes they affect everything about how you look at flying. My story began at 0600 on a Wednesday morning. I briefed our combat hop over...

Don't worry, that never will happen.
May 1, 2004... This story, like many aviation stories, could start, "It was just another normal day...," but many days that start normally don't end up that way. We were scheduled for a zero-dark-30 (middle-of-the-night) preflight and launch on a...

Bravo Zulu.
May 1, 2004... While flying a day functional check flight (FCF) off the South Carolina coast, LtCol. Karl D. Brandt faced multiple emergencies. During the 500-knot roll checks, his FA-18 had dual, bleed-air warning lights. He completed the NATOPS boldface...