Directing Attention

I keyed the mic, "Direct DUSTT, hold as published, maintain 3,000, EFC 0315, Nine Four Charlie." The world outside was dark and dimensionless. Pitch black, actually. It was a low IFR night and I was single pilot. The engine noise had just transformed from a relaxed purr to a roar as I executed a missed approach. During instrument training, pilots learn to expect a sensation of tumbling backward during a throttle up in IMC. I felt that sensation that night and responded as I was trained -- disregard the sensation and hunker down on the instruments. Even our own bodies lie to us sometimes. It's important not to allow that unusual sensation to cause hesitation during application of climb power. I was climbing, turning toward the missed approach fix, configuring things for the hold, cleaning up the airplane (retracting flaps and completing the after takeoff checklist), and I had no autopilot. I was task saturated. Suddenly, I stopped.

I've trained myself to do this whenever I feel the current workload is becoming overwhelming. I stop what I'm doing, put my non-flying hand on my leg, and just fly. I transition back to the flight instruments and reallocate my attention to attitude-instrument flying. "Am I sending the airplane to where it needs to go? To a safe place?" Anything else can wait. The most important thing is to keep the airplane in a safe attitude and positively under control. I have programmed a mental alarm of sorts that monitors how much of my attention is on flying the airplane. When that figure dips below the 75% range, the alarm trips, and I respond by suspending all tasks that don't directly involve flying the airplane. That night, I climbed to the assigned altitude, established on-course to the missed approach fix, and resumed other cockpit tasks only after I was straight-and-level. If the airplane departs from controlled flight, all those other tasks don't matter anyway.

During single pilot IFR operations, this type of thought discipline is especially important. Too many airplanes are lost to loss of control accidents in instrument conditions. Remember, if you don't fly the airplane, no one is. During high workload or task saturated situations, remember that the only thing that matters is to first stash the airplane in a safe place in the sky, nicely under control. There are some situations in instrument flying where there is simply too much for a single pilot to think about all at once. That's where workload management tactics, or task prioritization, comes in. We all know how many accident reports cite a loss of situational awareness as a cause or contributing factor. The most important aspect of your situation is always the attitude of the airplane and its position in space, particularly in relationship to terrain and obstructions. Although there are many other important situational elements to maintain awareness of, they are all secondary to this. The airplane must remain under control for any of those other tasks to even stay possible. Pilots have been lost when their attention was diverted from basic airplane control because they were fixated on another task or problem.

I recently completed an instrument currency session in a flight training device. The flight was approach intensive, as most instrument currency flights are. There were lots of rapid re-configurations, frequency changes, OBS resets, GPS tasks, and checklist duties. I was a busy pilot. I noticed my mental "stop and redirect" procedure was being used frequently due to the high workload. I'd be programming the GPS for the next approach and would suddenly and very deliberately move my hand away from the dial mid-rotation and put it on my leg. It almost always feels unnatural to do this. Often the GPS would be left with a flashing highlight on a selection screen. No matter, it can wait. It won't go anywhere. I needed to focus on flying and keeping the airplane heading in a safe direction.

This is my own personal workload management tactic that I've found to be very useful. It's effective at breaking a fixated thought pattern. If I feel that the GPS or finding a number on a chart is consuming too much of my precious attention--of which there is only so much of to go around--or that I'm becoming fixated, I break that thought pattern by forcing my hand to leg. It's a way of not letting my mind address anything at that moment other than flying the airplane. This procedure reminds me of Cesar Millan's, The Dog Whisperer, technique of touching a dog in a specific place on the body and making a "Sh!" sound when the dog is acting out. He's breaking the fixated thought process and redirecting the brain's attention.

I had a sharp flight student who I would occasionally challenge with task saturation. I wanted to see how he'd respond when the environment was asking too much of him all at once. I'd be barking commands at him and playing ATC as he was running checklists and flying. When the workload became too great, he'd begin to shed lower priority tasks and focus on flying. I was so proud when he'd ignore me and hunker down on the instruments. After he was sure he had the airplane under control, he'd begin responding to me. He reacted perfectly.

Pilot-in-command authority is more than just a term in the regulations. It's a mindset. It's an attitude. We have to be able to take charge of the situation, to be the "alpha dog" up there. When we are bombarded by too much input, we have to take charge by confidently selecting which tasks to focus on and which to address at a later time, and we must do this authoritatively. When we feel our minds losing situational awareness, we must recognize this and react by immediately eliminating distractions to flying the airplane. Get back to the rest when it's safe to do so.

We talk about resource management in flying. To me, resource management extends to the most valuable resource on the airplane, the pilot's brain. That brain has limited capacity. Too many demands can start to pull attention away from flying the airplane, and most of the brain's resources should be continuously attached to that effort. If attention starts peeling away from aircraft control, it should activate a mental alarm and that attention should be restored and re-attached to flying immediately. Be aware of where your attention is directed. Keep enough attention in the right places, that's what situational awareness is all about. If things start slipping, stop and just fly.

Brief Yourself

You might be thinking, "He's talking about briefings again?" Yes, I am. Briefings in GA are widely underused and under-rated! I've previously written about approach briefings, which are arguably the most important of all briefings. But, there are others that deserve mention, too. Several different briefings are used routinely in airline operations, and we need to beef up our "briefings culture," for lack of a better term, in GA. Today, let's discuss departure briefings.

Remember, it's important to conduct briefings even in single-crew (single pilot) operations. In multi-crew environments, briefings benefit the briefer just as much as the brief-ee. It's been proven that information that is verbalized tends to stick better in our brains, which is why it's critical to brief aloud, even if you're the only one listening. In a moment, I'll give an example of a self-briefing I conducted for a departure out of Arcata, California on a low IFR morning. First, let's go over some departure briefing basics.

A departure briefing should be performed before every departure, no matter how simple or routine it may seem. VFR, IFR, good weather, bad weather, familiar/unfamiliar airport, no matter the case, conduct a briefing. Pilots screw up even simple departures sometimes, and they pay the ultimate price. The more organized your mind is, the more sharp your flying becomes. A departure briefing should be performed just prior to engine start and should cover these items:

Current position on airport and anticipated taxi route

Determine your current position using the airport diagram and brief the taxi route you anticipate (consider highlighting during your preflight planning). Discuss any taxiway closures.

Departure runway information

Determine which runway will be used for takeoff, available runway distance for takeoff, runway lighting, etc.

Runway conditions

Is the runway dry, wet, icy, contaminated? Abnormal runway conditions may increase takeoff roll distance.

Takeoff procedure and special considerations

Discuss what type of takeoff is required: normal, short/soft-field, crosswind. Discuss aircraft configuration requirements (flap settings, etc.).

DP walkthrough/departure transition and automation mode (if applicable)

If a departure procedure will be flown, brief it the same way you would an instrument approach procedure. If a DP will not be flown, discuss the plan for a custom departure transition. That could be as simple as "left turn on course, up to 5,000." Whatever your plan is for transitioning from the runway into the enroute structure, brief it. If autopilot will be used, discuss when and what modes.

Terrain/obstructions

Any terrain or obstructions of interest should be noted. Keep it simple, otherwise you'll forget anyway. Something like "high terrain to the east" works. The idea is to know which way NOT to turn in the event of an engine failure or other emergency.

Emergency considerations

Discuss the plan for an emergency return to the airport if one becomes necessary. I don't recommend departing from an airport where the weather is too low to permit an emergency return, but if there's a good alternate nearby, discuss the route there and the approach to be used.

Here's an example of a departure briefing I conducted for a flight in a Piper Archer out of Arcata Airport in California:

"We're currently at the GA ramp here. We'll plan to join Alpha via Delta from the ramp and taxi southbound on Alpha to Runway 32. Looks like there is a run-up pad at the approach end of Runway 32, so we'll conduct a run-up there. We'll use Runway 32 for takeoff. We've got six thousand feet of takeoff distance available. We do have edge and centerline lighting for this runway. The runway is wet but we have plenty of available distance for the roll. We'll do a normal takeoff, little bit of a left-to-right crosswind. We're cleared for the HOCUT THREE departure, Crescent City transition. I have the HOCUT THREE departure, Arcata, California, Alpha Charlie Victor. This chart is current eleven March 2008 to eight April 2008. For departure Runway 32, it'll be a climbing left turn to join the 250 outbound Arcata to position HOCUT, then a right turn to join Victor 27 northbound to TRIAL, then Crescent City. We'll climb unrestricted to 9,000. I'll hand fly until established outbound on the 250, then engage NAV GPS roll steering and Vertical speed modes. We'll use GPS as primary for navigation with VHF data as backup. I have Arcata set and positively identified on NAV2 with 250 set on the OBS with Crescent City in the standby. Once we turn northbound to join Victor 27, it will be the Crescent City 161 and 341 on the OBS. We'll be out over the ocean almost immediately with high terrain to the east. If we have to return we'll proceed directly to KNEES for the ILS 32 and continue climb to 5,900. Departure briefing complete."

I've always enjoyed briefings and found them to be very helpful. They help instill a clear mental picture of the game plan and help things go smoothly as planned. There's a lot to keep straight up there, so verbalizing a clear and concise plan will help keep you on the straight and narrow. Blog post complete!

Sterile Cockpit Enforcement

After the recent string of air carrier accidents and incidents involving violations of sterile cockpit rules, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending the FAA use cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) to check up on pilots on a regular basis. Before, CVRs were only used in accident or incident investigations. Now, though, the FAA will use these devices to review routine flights to ensure pilots are maintaining a sterile cockpit. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and many line pilots are upset about this, claiming the new use of CVRs is an "invasion of privacy." One ALPA spokesperson also commented that he believes this will cause a distraction in the cockpit because pilots will be afraid to speak up about safety issues. Those are ridiculous arguments.

Get over it, you big babies! You shouldn't be participating in non-pertinent discussion during sterile periods anyway. If you just follow the rules, you won't have a problem. It's simple. ALPA's outcry reminds me of habitual drunk drivers protesting field sobriety checkpoints. If you're doing something wrong, you'll be upset when someone calls you on it. If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you won't notice any difference! The only pilots that have a problem with this idea are the violators.

Maintaining a sterile cockpit is crucial to flight safety. And because many pilots can't get that through their heads, the FAA is stepping in. God bless them. Pilots have repeatedly demonstrated that they're incapable of following sterile cockpit rules consistently, and that's why Big Brother is stepping up oversight. That's fair, and it makes perfect sense. For airline pilots, all you need to do is follow the rules. That's what you should've been doing in the first place because your passengers place trust in you to be people of integrity. If you don't agree with sterile cockpit rules, get over it. A rule is a rule, and all rules can be traced back to safety, so following them is not a matter of debate.

ALPA's non-sensical and downright silly arguments will likely continue, like a rowdy child being sent to time-out. It's embarrassing, really. I read an airline pilot's blog, and he wrote of a recent flight where he texted his dispatcher via ACARS to inquire about the score of a football game. He was angered when his dispatcher replied that management had decided sports scores are a distraction to flight operations. He commented that his anger became a distraction during the descent and approach and had the audacity to blame this on the company. The problem wasn't with the company, it was with his childish attitude and tantrum. Check the score after you land, act like an adult, and focus on flying.

The FAA monitoring CVRs on a routine basis is anything but an invasion of privacy. Do airline pilots think the flight deck of an airliner is their own personal living room? Pilots aren't entitled to privacy on the flight deck. It's the company's jet being used to haul hundreds of passengers in a complex and very public environment. Who says pilots have a right to privacy in that domain? And what would they even need privacy for? They shouldn't be discussing non-pertinent information anyway. I can't think of any reason that a pilot wouldn't want the FAA to hear him saying things like "Flaps 15," or running a checklist. So, what's the problem? Big Brother still wants to hear you saying those things. Just leave out the conversation about dinner plans. That's reasonable, right? Considering how many lives are at stake?

Ideally, pilots wouldn't require oversight by the FAA because they'd always follow the rules, but they don't. So, the FAA has to implement less-than-ideal solutions (like this one) to get things back on track, or at least closer to the track. It's a good, fair solution to a pilot-created problem. Stop whining, follow the rules, and the FAA will leave us all alone.