By design

Two incidents—one dealing with a sophisticated military fighter and the other a vintage homebuilt—come to mind that illustrate the profound benefits of planning. The pilots survived because they had a plan for dealing with the unlikely.

At the 1989 Paris Air Show a Soviet MiG-29 transitioned from a low-level pass at minimum airspeed to a full-throttle vertical climb, demonstrating the extreme power of the twin-engine fighter to the crowd. At a height of about 500 feet as it flew slowly past chalets filled with invited guests and ticket holders, the pilot pitched the jet’s nose to the vertical, applied full throttle, and lit both afterburners to begin a zoom skyward. But only one afterburner ignited, resulting in a loss of directional control because of asymmetric power. The MiG yawed and stalled, pitched down, and plunged toward the infield of Le Bourget. In an instant the pilot ejected, his chute blossoming a second before he hit the ground and saving his life. Planning by the airshow’s safety officers had rejected the MiG pilot’s initial request to conduct the low-speed flyby at just over 300 feet, moving the aircraft sufficiently higher to deal with an unlikely engine problem.

The other incident involved a Bowers Fly Baby, a single-seat, open cockpit homebuilt designed in the 1960s and completed by more than 500 amateur builders. The aircraft was purchased by a U.S. Coast Guard pilot with current experience in Lockheed C–130s and military rotorcraft as well as a passion for grassroots general aviation. Throughout his career as a military aviator, he had owned several basic GA aircraft such as a pre-World War II Aeronca Chief and a 1950s-era Piper Tri-Pacer, and he was impressed by the quality of the workmanship displayed by the homebuilder of the Bowers-designed single-seater. Nevertheless, as a serious aviator trained by the military, the Fly Baby’s new owner mentally explored how best to operate the aircraft, concluding he would wear a parachute whenever flying the Fly Baby. He also reviewed a likely egress technique if required to bail out and established a minimum operational altitude of 1,500 feet agl to provide sufficient height should the unexpected occur. Such extraordinary planning saved his life when a fatigue failure of an external bracket holding a flying wire resulted in sudden separation of the left wing from the Fly Baby’s fuselage as the aircraft cruised in typical low-level turbulence at the pilot’s self-imposed minimum altitude. Applying focus and composure honed by years of Coast Guard training, the Fly Baby’s pilot located the safety belt release as the aircraft rolled violently, exited the disabled homebuilt, and survived when his chute blossomed at about 300 feet agl.

Always have a plan: Regardless of aircraft type or mission purpose, planning is a core component—arguably the most important component—of an aviator’s skill set. It must be incorporated into every piloting task. Planning contemplates a path that reaches the desired outcome while identifying and minimizing the risk of being unsuccessful. It is a learned discipline that CFIs must teach. Planning must become cultural—what the pilot does consistently even when no one is watching. Pilots develop the thought process that knows what to do before needing to act—in essence, knowing what to do before needing to do it.

Flights succeed when pilots (1) have knowledge to achieve the desired outcome, (2) have skill to implement the task successfully, and (3) have ability to decide when and what to do. Planning weaves together these key elements to produce a successful flight.

Flight instructors have an obligation to teach planning with the first and every subsequent flight. Lesson plans are the tools that enable CFIs to satisfy that basic obligation. Furthermore, student learning is facilitated by reviewing what will be covered in the lesson, understanding the purpose of the lesson, and considering the techniques involved. A lesson plan covers these elements. As an element of planning, students should be taught to play the What If game. What if there is an anomaly that requires pilot intervention such as weather worse than forecast or an engine that is malfunctioning? What if the engine fails immediately after takeoff? What if the alternator fails halfway through a cross-country flight? By considering What if, the pilot plans to be prepared. Every flight should involve a what-if mindset.

Bottom line: Planning is a basic skill that all aviators must possess and all CFIs must teach. FT

John W. Olcott is an airline transport pilot, CFII, and remote pilot.