Defensive Posturing

Defensive Posturing
By Kent Lewis
Recent reports point to the high number of mishaps that occur during takeoff and landing
evolutions. Most interesting is the number of these mishaps that occur during flight
instruction. In 2005, there were 132 takeoff and landing accidents during instructional
flights, resulting in 4 fatalities ( 2006 Nall Report). Landing accidents ranked higher than
the overall GA average, while takeoff accidents were lower. The FAA Safety Team
(FAASTeam) has designated takeoff and landing accident reduction as a special
emphasis area. Additionally, the Commercial Air Safety Team, of which the FAA is a
member, has also analyzed approach and landing accidents and found high potential for
safety gains through effective hazard awareness education and preventive training.
Now some may believe that accidents happen during flight instruction because of the
higher threat and error exposure, because new pilots are developing skills necessary to
safely negotiate these environments. or skilled pilots are practicing advanced maneuvers
in a low altitude regime. One constant in these scenarios though, is the presence of a
Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) or Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), one who is responsible
for the safe outcome of the flight. What happened to this safeguard? Are we effectively
identifying and managing the additional hazards associated with flight instruction? And
what desired knowledge, skills, tactics and experience can help us safely manage these
hazards?
Let’s start by saying that I hope this article will generate discussion amongst students and
CFIs. The main hazard during flight training is letting the aircraft get to an unrecoverable
state, and way to prevent that is defensive posturing. Defensive posturing is the mental
attitude and associated physical actions that ensure that an aircraft never reaches an
undesired state in flight training. Maintaining a defensive posture to manage threat and
error during flight instruction is the responsibility of both parties. Good defensive
posturing begins in the brief, by establishing who the Pilot In Command (PIC) is, who
will be the Pilot Flying (PF) and who will be the Pilot Monitoring (PM). The student has
unspoken expectations, at a minimum, that the instructor will be responsible for the safe
conduct of the flight. The student is exposed to the threat of not knowing how far the
instructor wants a maneuver to develop and at what point he will appear to correct an
undesired aircraft state. A good CFI will ensure that these states do not develop by
maintaining a defensive posture, mentally and physically, throughout the flight and
keeping the student in the loop. The student should be briefed on speaking up if their
comfort level is being challenged and to call for a “Training Time Out”. This will signal
the instructor that the student has serious reservations about the maneuver in progress,
and immediate action is required to ensure flight safety is maintained. Both parties must
ensure steps are taken to maintain desired aircraft path and communicate. Questions are
free, hospitals are not.
Lets consider a training flight with the “Practical” Test “Standards” in mind. Just as with
any practical test, the oral portion shall be completed prior to the flight portion. It is
important for both agents in this transaction to establish common ground on what is
“practical” to complete during the flight, and what “standards” both people expect. The
people with the 500 pound heads call this a “shared mental model.” In other words,
everyone in the cockpit, cabin, hangar, control tower, etc…needs to be on the same flight
plan. While it is practical to practice simulated emergencies and aircraft handling at
various speeds and altitude, the standard is that no one shall simulate any condition that
may jeopardize safe flight or result in possible injury or aircraft damage.
Here’s where the discussion begins, with an example. When I instructed in the UH-1N
(Bell 212), we did not practice full autorotations, but rather power recovery autos that
ended in a 5 foot hover. Other schools took the ma
controls between pilots is a proven procedure and one that is strongly recommended”
(PTS) Be sure to use the word controls during the exchange, not salty slang like “I got it”.
You got what, another aircraft in sight, the FBO, or the controls? If instructing in tandem
seat aircraft, brief a lost intercom procedure to exchange controls such as shaking the
stick fore/aft and left/right and /or hand signals. That is the preferred method, vs
whacking someone on the head with a kneeboard.
Now on to tales of daring and almost do…During the takeoff roll in a T-44 (King Air 90),
the Instructor Pilot (PM) became distracted and did not make the required V1 call. The
student (PF) reacted by initiating a high-speed abort several knots beyond V1 and
selected reverse thrust. The instructor, seeing the end of the runway fast approaching,
took control of the aircraft, rotated and attempted to push the throttles full forward. In this
lickety-split series of unfortunate events the throttles mechanically stopped on the reverse
side of idle, not at the desired max power setting. The airplane struggled airborne for a
few feet, then crashed beyond the departure end of the runway. Both pilots survived, but
the airplane was destroyed. During the takeoff roll, it is important for the instructor to
guard power and flight controls to ensure safe manipulation. Strange things happen, like
seats sliding aft and over-rotation, that require immediate correction. Have your hands
and feet ready to take control. Guard the power, yoke/stick/cyclic, fuel, gear and flaps.
You’ll need hands, feet, knees and maybe an elbow or two. The art here is to be ready to
assume control of path and configuration, but avoid riding the controls, which can result
in some instructor-induced oscillations and undermine student confidence. Discussing
beforehand when and how much your student can expect to see or feel you near the
controls will pay dividends here. Don’t even get me started here on mental defensive
posturing, monitoring and automation mode awareness.
Not-so-good things happen outside the pattern, too. I learned a lesson early in my
instructor days, fortunately up at 8500 feet. We were flying the mighty Turbo Mentor (T34C),
practicing recoveries from Power-Off Stalls. The aircraft was in the landing
configuration, and the student initiated the maneuver. Maneuver entry was slow, and
progressed too deep into the stall. The aircraft departed control flight. The student did not
reduce angle of attack and level the wings, so I took control of the aircraft. At this point
(almost inverted), I determined our best course of action was to “lower” the nose and
regain airspeed. We completed the roll, returned to controlled flight and dusted
everything off. My first and last “dirty” roll. The student was confused, appreciably so,
because he wasn’t expecting Power-Off Aerobatics. I explained that it was my fault for
not making sure we set up for the maneuver properly, and allowing it to continue beyond
the initial departure. He was game for another try, so I demonstrated the maneuver again,
and he went on to do several very nice stall recoveries. While I was ready for an upset
recovery, the lesson learned here was to do a better job making sure the maneuver is set
up properly. A poor set up usually equals an undesirable outcome, especially in the
pattern. And it is always better to use superior judgment so you don’t have to use superior
skills.
Now to the pattern. “A student pilot practicing takeoffs and landings in a Cessna 172,
with an instructor on board, flared the aircraft too high, and held the flare. The flight
instructor told the student to go around, but the student hesitated prior to adding full
power. The aircraft yawed 90 degrees to the left and struck a windsock before the flight
instructor gained control of the aircraft. Both occupants were uninjured. The student
failed to correct for left turning tendency and the CFI failed to properly supervise the
flight.” (AOPA Safety Advisor, Ups and Down of Takeoffs and Landings, 2006)
Instructors must be alert to guard rudders in the pattern, especially against skidded turn
stalls, and call the waveoff versus letting a maneuver degrade to a dangerous state. As an
instructor, you’ll be guarding the yoke/stick/cyclic with one hand, power gear and flaps
with the other, pedals with your feet, listening/talking on the radio and watching for
traffic. Animal crackers and juice boxes are going to have to wait. Positive learning needs
to be encouraged here, emphasizing the importance of textbook patterns, the use of
checklists, stabilized control in the approach, flare and landing. Proper checklist usage
ensures that the aircraft is configured properly. Flying a stabilized approach means you
are hitting all of your airspeed, altitude, and heading/lineup waypoints. You need to be
lined up, on speed, on altitude to make a good flare and landing. One mantra to remember
is that you fly the aircraft all the way to the tiedowns. Once you have it strapped back
down to Mother Earth, your flight is finished. Until then all aircraft, especially
helicopters, are trying to return themselves to their natural animal, mineral or plant state.
Another threat to manage here is configuration of the aircraft. There have been numerous
accidents when aircraft land gear up during “simulated” gear emergencies, or stall
because of improper flap settings during takeoff and touch and go maneuvers.
Checklists, anyone? Workload is high here for everyone, but the instructor must be on the
mental defensive to ensure the aircraft is configured and flown properly. If the evolution
starts to unravel, disengage, select zone five afterburner and return to fight another day.
Or just go around. The go around/rejected landing/missed approach is probably one of the
least taught but most important maneuvers a student can learn. Think about and teach the
go-around as a proactive maneuver, an accident prevention strategy.
Don’t forget the debrief, this is the best time to see if your perceptions of the flight match
up with those of your fellow pilot. Open communication will result in an effective review
of the flight. Avoid criticism and practice professional critique. Look for lessons learned
and discuss how they will be applied to the next series of flights. Sometimes we learn
best from our mistakes, but we like to keep those kinds of debrief items small and
insignificant. It is very important to have the student communicate their perceptions of
training, so the instructor can ensure decision-making skills are appropriate for the level
of training. There are great gains to be made here by discussing the knowledge and skill
based behaviors that lead to increased situational awareness, improved aircraft handling
and efficient team resource management.
Fly smart and use your resources. The most important piece of equipment in the aircraft
is the “computer” between your ears, the second most important is the BIG glass display,
you know, that thing in front of your noggin that’s keeping the bugs out of your teeth?
Use them and have a great flight!
Fly Smart
Kent has been a student and instructor in both airplanes and helicopters. He currently
volunteers as a FAASTeam Lead Representative and is developing the safety website
www.signalcharlie.net