AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2015 - 22

LICENSE TO LEARN

Nobody moves,
nobody gets hurt

BY ROD MACHADO

Take the time to think about what's happening
HERE'S A GOOD LESSON that every pilot should learn:
When something out of the ordinary happens in an
airplane, think before you act. The stranger the occurrence, the more thinking you should do before you
make your next move or decision.
Years ago, I was standing on the flight line, chatting
with a friend, when we heard a twin rev up its engines:
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Thump!
The airport went silent.
We ran in the direction of the sudden silence, only
to find an Apache with its tail up in the air and its nose
on the ground. It looked like an enormous lawn dart.
The Apache's instructor climbed out of the cockpit, walked to the front of his machine, and removed
the nosewheel chock-the one responsible for collapsing the nose gear assembly.

At that point, I should have realized that I was
much more vulnerable to making a mistake-
any mistake.

ROD MACHADO

will be a featured
speaker at
AOPA Fly-Ins
this summer.

22 | AOPA PILOT May 2015

According to the instructor, he sensed that something wasn't right when he throttled up for taxi.
"I just couldn't put my finger on the problem," he
said. Unfortunately, his throttle fingers were part of
the problem.
The moral of this story is: When something doesn't
feel right in an airplane, think before you continue to
act. If you're not sure what to do, then follow the bank
robber's advice: Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt. Stop
your machine if it's on the ground. If it's in the air,
don't do anything quickly until you've taken the time to
think about what's happening to you. Had the Apache
instructor stopped trying to move forward after experiencing something out of the ordinary, he might have
easily deduced the reason for his stasis.
Several years ago, a commercial student and
I began our takeoff run in a Piper Arrow on a relatively short runway. During the takeoff roll, I sensed
that something wasn't right. The engine sounded fine,
but we weren't accelerating normally. There was no
time to think the problem through, so I applied the
bank robber's advice: Nobody moves, nobody gets
hurt. I powered back, aborted the takeoff, and taxied
to the maintenance hangar for a mechanic's inspection. It turned out that the throttle cable had slipped,

preventing the engine from developing its maximum
takeoff power.
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who gave advice followed their advice? Unfortunately, everyone can make
a mistake if they fail to think before they act. Me, too.
A few years ago, I was holding short of and perpendicular to the airport's taxiway after obtaining an IFR
clearance. Having just switched to ground control frequency, I spied an absolutely gorgeous green and white
Mooney Ovation taxiing from my left to my right. As it
taxied by, I watched as all three landing gear retracted
into its belly. The airplane plopped onto the ground as
if mortally wounded.
My very first thought was, "Now there's something
you don't see every day." I remember looking at the
two fellows exiting the airplane and feeling very bad
for them. How embarrassing.
Since there was nothing much I could do to help,
I applied power and taxied to the runup area. While
checking my controls, I received a call from ground
control: "Ahh, Two-One-Three-Two Bravo, did you
contact ground control before taxi?"
The humorist in me wanted to respond by asking,
"Why? Is that important?" Of course I didn't do that. It
turned out that I had forgotten to obtain a taxi clearance.
Clearly, the shock of the Mooney's gear collapse had
been something out of the ordinary for me. At that point,
I should have realized that I was much more vulnerable
to making a mistake-any mistake. Staying put and not
moving until I had rerun my taxi checklist would have
been the prudent thing to do. Live and learn.
Needless to say, the folks in the tower weren't too
happy with me, and it took some talking to work things
out. The lesson here is: When something out of the
ordinary happens in an airplane, think before you act.
Apply the "nobody moves, nobody gets hurt" strategy.
The stranger the occurrence, the more you should
think before you act.
One more thing: If you say the phrase, "Nobody
moves, nobody gets hurt," please say it silently and
not out loud-especially if you're on a checkride.
Saying it out loud might scare the examiner, eliminating your chances of obtaining your certificate on that
day. However, it might get you the examiner's wallet or
purse; so that's some compensation, at least.
AOPA
WEB

www.rodmachado.com

http://www.rodmachado.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2015

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