Premium On Safety - Issue 18, 2015 - 1

PREMIUM ON SAFETY
ISSUE 18 YEAR 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

On Guard: UPS Flight 1354 03
SMS Corner: Fatigue Risk Management System 03
Best Practices: IS-BAH Certification 05
ASI Message: Personal Minimums 06
Lessons Learned: Too Tight 07
USAIG Welcomes NATA Safety 1st to Performance Vector 08

A MESSAGE FROM USAIG
Greetings! Recently, I was looking over
a precept for selecting new instructor
pilots I helped write 14 years ago
at a sizable military flight operation.
Seeking a fair and rigorous process,
we settled on four core traits that had
to be strongly in evidence: judgment,
interpersonal tact and confidence,
self-motivated pursuit of technical
knowledge, and reputation for flight
proficiency. Pilots that made that cut
were then gauged on their relative
degree of observed performance in the
four core traits, plus five foundations
of advanced airmanship: leadership,
experience, respect for standards and
policy, mentoring, and professionalism.
I was struck at first by the lack of an
overt safety focus in our criteria, but
then realized our aim to discern flight
instructor potential was simultaneously
identifying habitually safe pilots.
Something to ponder as you pursue
expanded knowledge by reading this
issue! Enjoy, fly safe, and fly smart.

Paul Ratté
Director of Aviation Safety
Programs, USAIG

Upset Prevention and
Recovery Training

BY LEE SMITH

LOCI is a requirement for Part 121 airlines in the
United States to provide pilots with "extended
envelope" simulator training beginning in March
of 2019 (FAR 121.423).
Although unusual attitude recovery and stall
avoidance and recovery have been standard
training requirements for many years, there
are significant limitations on what can be
safely practiced in an
The use of "extended envelope" simulator training
aircraft, and what can be
accurately depicted in a
means developing an aerodynamic model for the
flight simulator. Traditional
flight simulators make
flight simulator based upon flight test data that goes use of aerodynamic
models that are limited
beyond the typical flight envelope. This allows pilots to the certified flight
envelope. Similarly, stall
to practice recovery from upsets and stalls while
performance in simulators
experiencing an accurate depiction of their aircraft's is based upon normal
unaccelerated stalls. In
configurations outside
performance in those flight regimes.
of the envelope, or with
operating under Part 135 were the result of LOCI, accelerated stalls, simulated flight characteristics
have not been based on flight test data, and may
of which 65 percent were fatal. Similarly, for Part
not be reflective of actual aircraft performance in
91 operations, 20 percent of all accidents were
those conditions.
found to be the result of LOCI with a 53 percent
Flight test data is used to determine or validate
fatality rate. This is clearly not a new problem.
the certified flight envelope. During flight testing,
Following several high-profile airline accidents
aircraft manufacturers often generate data on
where LOCI was found to be a causal factor (such
aircraft performance beyond the certified flight
as American 587, Air France 447, and Colgan
envelope, but have historically not shared this
3407), the FAA, ICAO, and the global aviation
data. However, that is beginning to change. The
industry has worked to identify methods to
use of "extended envelope" simulator training
prevent loss of control and improve this safety
means developing an aerodynamic model for the
record. One key result of the global concern over
Not many people have exceeded redline airspeed
or experienced deep aerodynamic stalls in a
business jet other than test pilots and pilots
having a really bad day.
Loss of control inflight (LOCI) is by far the
leading cause of fatal accidents over the last 20
years. A NASA study found that between 1988
and 2004, 18 percent of all accidents by aircraft

(continued on page 2)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Premium On Safety - Issue 18, 2015