AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022 - 20

PROFICIENT PILOT
Assuming
command
Speak up when observing unsafe practices
WE WERE UNDULATING above and below Flight Level 390 like a
ship at sea riding heavy swells. On one side of a crest, the Boeing
707 gained altitude while on the other it descended. Airspeed
variations in the mountain wave were significant, and substantial
throttle movement was needed to prevent a low-speed stall buffet
or a high-speed Mach buffet.
The captain, however, was timid with the thrust levers.
Airspeed excursions became larger and more threatening,
but as a neophyte co-pilot I was reluctant to criticize his airmanship.
Finally, the airspeed indicator reached the barber
pole-the redline-and the captain reduced power only slightly,
not nearly enough to avoid the high-speed aural warning. I suggested
that we reduce power more aggressively, but the captain
did not respond. I then gripped the thrust levers and reduced
power of the four turbofan engines to almost idle, but it was
too late to prevent shock waves on the wings from creating a
disturbing buffet.
" I was going to do that, " barked the veteran captain. He glared
at me in a way that said I would soon be required to visit the chief
pilot's office. My career was on the line, and an icy silence permeated
the cockpit for the rest of the flight.
When we arrived at our hotel in San Francisco that evening,
the old geezer asked me to meet him in the coffee shop.
The flight engineer also was invited, probably, I thought, to
witness the tongue lashing I was about to receive. Instead, the
captain apologized. After reviewing the situation, he conceded
that I was right to take momentary command of the airplane.
He thanked me, paid for our dinner-an unheard-of gesture
from an airline captain-and suggested that we drop the matter.
I was lucky. Another captain might not have tolerated my
aggressiveness.
The role of a co-pilot is to support the captain and assist
him or her as necessary. But the first officer also bears some
responsibility for flight safety and in doing so must often walk
a tightrope between subservience and assertiveness.
These principles also apply to general aviation operations.
Assume, for example, that you, as a pilot passenger, are
being flown by an experienced pilot in his airplane. At some
point you sense that your host is flying in an unsafe manner
but does not respond to your hints of concern. This can be
20
AOPA PILOT / February 2022
BY BARRY SCHIFF
a difficult situation. Even though not pilot in command, a
pilot in the right seat should not allow conditions to erode
to the point where intervention cannot prevent what fate
might have in mind.
If you become uncomfortable about a developing situation,
do not hesitate to express that discomfort about your pilot's
management (or mismanagement) of the flight. You might initially
ask him to explain what he's doing. This hopefully will
serve as a trigger that causes him to rethink his actions.
A good pilot demonstrates more than experience and skill.
He shows consideration for his passengers' concerns and does
what is necessary to alleviate their anxiety. If he does not, then
you as a pilot passenger might have to consider other options,
which-in the extreme-could include wresting control from
your more experienced host. Such an action would at least convey
the depth of your concern. But what if your analysis of the
situation is incorrect? Such is the dilemma with which many first
officers have had to cope.
Perhaps the best solution is to avoid such a problem in the first
place. This is most easily accomplished by not flying with anyone
whose judgment you do not respect. I do not mind flying in the
right seat with a stranger in the left because I am confident of my
ability and assertiveness, and I am prepared to employ both as
necessary. I generally will not, however, ride in the back seat of a
lightplane with a stranger in command of my destiny. I have lost
friends who yielded control to someone they did not know and
had no reason to trust.
Another type of problem arises when you otherwise observe
a pilot engaging in unsafe practices. Such a situation calls for privately
discussing the problem with them in a sincere manner and
attempting to point out the error of their ways. This might have
to be done at the risk of alienating a stranger, an acquaintance,
or even a friend. After all, how dedicated to aviation safety can
a pilot be if he is unwilling to speak up when observing unsafe
practices? Turning a deaf ear on safety can make you at least
morally responsible for the
fate of another's passengers,
a responsibility that should
not be taken lightly.
BarrySchiff.com
BARRY SCHIFF has
flown 28,000 hours in 363
different types of aircraft
over a period of 69 years.
http://www.BarrySchiff.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022

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