Premium on Safety - Issue 35, 2020 - 1

PREMIUM ON SAFETY
ISSUE 35 WINTER 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

Simulator Training: A professional pilot's
choice for career development 01
Spotlight on Safety: New FAA policy will allow stable
diabetic pilots on insulin to fly commercially 04
Quiz: The Wonders of Winter 05
Lessons Learned: A Chain of Cheese 06
ASI Message: Why Do Good Pilots Make Bad Decisions? 09
Focus Point: Why Go Around? Why Not? 10

A MESSAGE FROM USAIG

The Challenge:
If You Can Go,
Should You?
News about the crash of a Pilatus PC-12
carrying a multi-generational group of
family members in South Dakota over
the Thanksgiving weekend rekindled a
sadness I felt after a Citation was lost in
Lake Erie a few days after Christmas in
2016. The weather was more adverse in
the PC-12 incident, but both cases cause
most aviators to question why those
pilots chose to take off when they did.
We mislead ourselves by calling that
option "go/no-go." That implies it's a
simple binary choice that morphs too
easily into "can go" or "can't go." That
isn't nearly the full picture and perhaps
misses the key point.

Fairly early in my time as USCG helicopter
pilot, I was overruled while preparing
to launch to retrieve a woman in early
labor from a remote Alaskan village.
The situation was unfolding in the wee
hours and the weather wasn't great,
but I was confident our equipment
and training were up to it. Because the
village was in a mountainous area and
its dirt landing strip unlit, commercial
carriers couldn't arrive before sunrise,
which was hours away. A bit miffed at
getting stood-down, I started a campaign
contd. next page

A cockpit procedure trainer is where pilots start building the muscle memory
that supports their cognitive commands.
Credit: Courtesy of FlightSafety International

Simulator Training

BEST PRACTICES

A professional pilot's choice for career development
BY SCOTT M. SPANGLER
With so many training opportunities for professional pilots today, applicants often
must decide which opportunities to pursue. Those that include a comprehensive
simulator-based program of initial and recurrent training should lead the list, especially if
employment will lead to your inaugural type rating.
Pilot proficiency summarizes the knowledge and skill needed to operate any aircraft
safely, efficiently, and economically. "A professional pilot's level of proficiency is not
subject to compromise," said Doug Carr, National Business Aviation Association vice
president, regulatory and international affairs. "A continuous training program is
necessary to provide proficiency, including but not limited to routine flight proficiency
checks, dedicated simulator time, and other training, so as to optimize proficiency with
an informed combination of in-house personnel and third-party expertise."

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/nr20191202.aspx https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20161230X91745&ntsbno=CEN17FA072&akey=1 https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20161230X91745&ntsbno=CEN17FA072&akey=1

Premium on Safety - Issue 35, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Premium on Safety - Issue 35, 2020