Approach articles from September 2001

Approach archives from September 2001

Applying OJT and ORM off-duty.(on-the-job training, operational risk management)(Brief Article)(Editorial)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... During the past five fiscal years, 331 Sailors and 271 Marines were killed on highways. These deaths represented nearly 81 percent of all off-duty deaths during the period, and were more than twice the number killed in all operational mishaps....

Dive right!(helicopter pilot avoids disaster)(Brief Article)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2001... It had been a great hop at the FRS. The student was sitting in the left seat for the first time and had performed exceptionally well on his first aircraft-tactical-system hop. We had stopped at a nearby MCAS to practice familiarization...

Nevermore: I tried to decide what to say in the voice recorder right before we crashed.(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Anyone who has spent time at NAF Atsugi knows all about the ravens. Thousands of them caw raucously, from the golf course to the flight line. They wake you every morning and are still at it every evening. Early last month, I could have sworn I...

The night the new guy almost died.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... It was a typical night hop during the first month of cruise: a double-cycle, surface search and coordination (SSC), and air-intercept control (IAC) mission. Although our E-2C crew was all junior officers, three members did have...

Fog, icebergs, and an ELVA--who needs ORM?(operational risk management)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... As the only pilot on a Lynx "flight" (the British Royal Navy term for "detachment"), I was tasked to fly in all kinds of weather on all types of missions. I thought my Lynx training in the typically rainy, foggy and windy British weather had...

Speechless.(flying in inclement weather)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... It was a beautiful day for blue-water operations near the equator: a scattered layer at 2,000 feet and isolated build-ups in the vicinity. The mission was to bomb and strafe the ship's spar, basically a huge piece of wood towed 800 feet behind...

Which light was it?(fire lights)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Just another night in the GCA pattern before another at-sea, work-up period. A few quick trips around the pattern, a period in the LSO shack, and I'd be home by nine. No sweat. We launched into the beautiful Whidbey night after being...

Pitchlocked propeller.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Propeller malfunctions result in some of the most complex emergency procedures in the P-3 community. When operating normally, the hydraulic prop governor changes blade angle to maintain engine rpm. When the governor fails, the blade angle...

The Tokyo shuffle.(importance of aircraft maintenance)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Another routine hop to R116. Routine in that the delays and frustrations associated with operating from NAF Atsugi, Japan, had become the norm. It had been a great tour with great people. NAF Atsugi is eight miles inland of Sagami Bay, but...

My head, the pressure chamber.(perils of flying when unwell)(Brief Article)(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... I had just walked into the flight surgeon's office early in the morning, eager to get back on the flight schedule. For the last four days I had been med down with a head cold. The doc had prescribed the usual doses of meds, tons of liquids, and...

"Landslide 13, we are at general quarters. This is not a drill".(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The first time a naval aviator goes to the boat is an exciting time. Landing on a moving platform J validates all the hard work and training in flight school. I had heard that after finishing DLQs and returning to base, you often have a sense...

Anyone got a deer whistle?(deer on the runway)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... It was my first flight in the squadron after completing the IUT syllabus at TW-5. What a good deal: a mid-afternoon brief for a day-into-night out and in. Comfortable spring weather covered northwest Florida. After briefing and filing for...

Not so routine after all.(military avionics in the Arabian Gulf)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... We were in the third month of our deployment and our second month in the Arabian Gulf. We had the routine down pat. The "It can't happen to me" attitude had set in. This day started off with a typical flight brief for a short one-hour hop....

Crew resource management: what we have here is a failure to communicate ...(Naval Safety Center)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... We communicate every day, but how often do you miss certain signals? if you're in a relationship, you probably have been accused of not listening, especially if you're a male. Usually it's missing a hint about an anniversary or birthday gift,...

Where's the alternate for the alternate?
September 1, 2001... The flight-school instructor always warned us to beware of hops that seem benign. What was to be the most routine hop of the weekend turned out to leave us all quaking in our boots. Four aircraft were to launch as two sections and fly an...