The golden rules - to be a safe pilot

[galleypower]

Hi all,

Airbus resp. FSF published 'Operations Golden Rules' some years ago.
Operations Golden Rules address aspects that are considered frequent causal factors in incidents and accidents.

They are:
1 - Automated aircraft can be flown like any other aircraft
2 - Fly, Navigate, Communicate and Manage – in that order
3 - One head up at all times
4 - Cross check the accuracy of the FMS with raw data
5 - Know your guidance at all times
6 - When things don’t go as expected, Take over
7 - Use the correct level of automation for the task
8 - Practice task sharing and back-up each other

It all makes sense. What other tips you have to be a safe pilot (irrelevant of the type of a/C you fly)? I would like to extend this list. I know there was once such a thread on here, but I couldn't find it...
More ideas or the link to the relevant posting would be much appreciated.

[Mimpe]

I say to myself whenever the engines start up " fly with abundant caution".

Its just a personal habbit.

I've always found that unpreparedness is an very unpleasant bedfellow...so to speak.

[Pull what]

Beware of self appointed experts talking **** on forums

[what next]

Good morning!

Beware of self appointed experts talking **** on forums

:D

What other tips you have to be a safe pilot?

Only one: Be skeptical all the time. Never assume, always verify. Trust no one (including yourself!). If in doubt, check again. Re-chek if necessary. As long as this might take.

Your rules above apply only to the act of flying itself. But there is much more involved than just the easy bit of piloting the aircraft, especially in business aviation where you don't have much support from a big airline organisation.

The big problems you might encounter in flight always have their origin in very little problems/lack of care hours or days before the flight. So always take the time it takes. Never accept any shortcuts.

Happy landings,
max

[galleypower]

Thanks guys for the tips.

regarding 'never assume', a pilot told me once the following: If you assume, you make an *ss out of you and me.
I found it a brilliant way to remember.

Another tip: When communicating with cabin- or ground crew in abnormal situations, use NITS or any other standardized structure. You will keep it short, simple and correct.
And let them repeat what you have said, so you get a closed loop.

N - Nature of problem
I - Intentions
T - Time
S - Specials

Any other habit or procedure you use to keep you safe?

[ReverseFlight]

A couple more Golden Rules:
1. If the going's good, be skeptical of yourself.
2. If the going's not good, be critical of yourself.
:ok:

[Monty77]

These may help:

Checks waste time.

Never check, assume.

Never chicken out at decision height. You will look weak.

Hope this helps, don't care if it doesn't.

[Private jet]

If you're feeling bored, you are in the wrong job

[fireflybob]

The flight hasn't finished until you've taxied the aircraft to the parking position and shut the engines down.

In reality I don't really think there are any golden rules as such. Safe operation is based on many factors including good training, experience, preparation and teamwork.

Whatever you are doing, always have an "escape" route, keep thinking "If this option doesn't work what am I going to do next?" Never get into a situation where you have only one option.

[Pilot DAR]

I don't take credit for any of the following, they have just followed me....

Good judgment comes from experience – experience comes from poor judgment.

The chance of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival

Please remember, you now start out with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

Always fly in the middle of the sky.
Most of the problems happen near the edges.

Nothing happens quickly enough in aviation, unless things are going wrong

You check out a landing site for a helicopter the way you’d check out a woman; the 5 S’s: Suitability, Surroundings, Size, Slope, and Surface

[bingofuel]

The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid using his superior skill.

[athonite]

I think fireflybob sums it up nicely, training, experience, preparation and teamwork. My understanding is that a Speyer and Ziegler of Airbus, thought up these 'Golden rules' as a way of explaining away a number of air accidents, 17 A320 hull loses to date. Does Airbus think, that ten golden rules are going to cover everthing. Perhaps they should a have stated the hundred ways to get caught by automated aircraft!

Please dont think that I am against A320's or automation, I think its a brilliant aircraft, it's just in the early days it was not fully understood, and training culture and experience was a factor. The test pilots were in also in denial in the early days, I met Nick Warner at a conference in Birmingham a few months before his death test flying the A330, in which he claimed it was an aircraft without vices, during Q & A's I got the impression he was in denial about the possible weakness in the man machine interface.

(a) In the early 1990's a German television company made a documentary in association with the German Airline Pilot's Association, following the the Lufthansa Flight 2904, Warsaw, which included interviews with the chief test pilot Bernard Zeigler, this was the man who during his military career flew into cables, bringing down three gondolas and killing six people. During the interview with German Airline pilots, in which even he seemed confused about some of the flight modes. I understand that Airbus took legal action to ban this documentary, but a highly regarded professer of psychology kindly provided me with a copy on VHS a number of years ago, which was given to him by a german airline pilot. IM if you need a copy.

(a) In the 1990's there was and attempt by a top London law firm to 'Gag' a UK postgraduate psychology research student, and sieze all of his research including confidential pilot surveys, he was researching into human factors in high technology aircraft, based on pilots attitude surveys, completed by A320 pilots from three airlines. Airbus worked on the premise that the postgraduate was 'an agent' working for Boeing, which was complete rubbish, but part of the Airbus pathology at the time. Eventually Airbus backed off.

[giannisk]

Dear all,

I would like to ask you if somebody has A320 quension bank from any TRTO ?

Thank you very much.

[flarepilot]

galley power

even if you are in a nice jet, with multiple engines, there may be a time you have to land off airport

so always have a field, open area, road, waterway etc in mind on which to land.

and as you travel across country, be thinking ahead to the next emergency landing spot.

a plane may catch fire (think swiss air, value jet, UPS) and getting down anywhere might save lives.


all engines may quit

and the person who indicated a flight doesn't end till you taxi to parking and shut down the engines....that's fine, but you might make sure the parking brake is set and the chocks are in place.

[fireflybob]

and the person who indicated a flight doesn't end till you taxi to parking and shut down the engines....that's fine, but you might make sure the parking brake is set and the chocks are in place.

Agree and all passengers safely disembarked! Merry Christmas

[Duchess_Driver]

If you're not doing anything, you're doing something wrong!

Checks, checks and more checks!

[ShyTorque]

even if you are in a nice jet, with multiple engines, there may be a time you have to land off airport

so always have a field, open area, road, waterway etc in mind on which to land.
.

Nice one, very funny!

[TheOddOne]

Well, it's a good job Chesley Sullenberger had such in mind. I don't recall hearing chuckling noises or any giggling on the CVR.

TOO

[flarepilot]

I mentioned being able to land, NOW and keeping things in mind

some think it is funny


ask all the survivors of swiss air and the fire (MD11 I think, near peggy's cove)

or the survivors of value jet and the fire ( remember the oxygen generators and the intense fire in the cargo hold)


oh, and for the record, there were not any survivors.

and I can think of three other accidents where people were hurt, but got down in various states of success.

sully

toca


southern

[ShyTorque]

I'd agree during the takeoff and landing but from FL330 over solid overcast it's a slightly more complicated issue.

[flarepilot]

shy torque

even before the efis/moving map displays and all the magic

I sat there over the overcast, with my chart on my lap, or in my favorite plane, in a very convenient place that the engineers came up with.

with cross radials, dme or not, I knew where I was and what places were suitable for landing within gliding distance (all engine out) or emergency descent for the myriad of reasons.

''fate is the hunter'' the hole of exquisite design...think about it.


if you are just sitting there, not considering options, above the overcast...even over the ocean and distance to shipping lanes...well good luck to you.

[Artie Fufkin]

Words fail me.

flarepilot... I just don't know where to start.

Just when you think the opinions on pprune couldn't get any more farcical or ridiculous, there's still someone out there left to surprise you.

[flarepilot]

artie furfkin

care to elaborate? don't you know where you are when you are IFR?

maybe I've missed something about responsibilities of the PIC?

[flarepilot]

shy torque...one small point to correct

if you are over an over cast, it is an undercast

[Artie Fufkin]

Didn't say anything about not knowing where you are in IMC. You said;

even if you are in a nice jet, with multiple engines, there may be a time you have to land off airport so always have a field, open area, road, waterway etc in mind on which to land.

Let's say you fly a 777 from Europe to Australia, are you seriously suggesting having a knowledge of all suitable fields, open areas, roads and waterways in mind for a possible forced landing along the whole route?

Let's say you were the PIC of that A340 that flew from Singapore to New York over the pole. You're over jagged pack ice for 100s of miles in all directions, let's say it has a thick covering of fog and you're flying at night. Would you find a good spot to put the aircraft down in a forced landing at all points in this flight? No. You wouldn't.

The "golden rule" the OP was after here is that as a professional pilot you cannot plan for every conceivable scenario. Sometimes you'll be called on to react. This really is very basic stuff.

[flarepilot]

artie

I gave you three examples of jets that had to land now...only they didn't and everyone died.

if I was flying over the pole and there was a massive fire in the cabin that couldn't be contained by the few hand fire extinguisher on board I know what I would do

what would you do just fly along waiting for everyone to die?

and if my ''route'' (gotta love it) was europe to australia I would damn well pull out some charts and take a look at things along the way. and in this modern world, I could just google some sat images of the terrain and take a look.

for many reasons I chose domestic flying, even though my airline certainly offers its large share of over seas flying.

and I even took out WAC charts and sectionals to familiarize myself with the world below me.

you can think ahead...that's what a professional pilot should be doing...and yes, some places you just have to say...sure hope I don't have to land down there.

there are two kinds of pilots...when faced with an emergency type one says: what do you think we should do?

the other says: this is what we are GOING to do.


so, fly along fat dumb and happy...type 1

[pitotheat]

Flarepoint you are being ridiculed because you seem to be suggesting that even flying at cruise altitudes of 35-40,000 feet at a ground speed of 550 knots you are sitting on the flight deck with a VFR map nominating suitable off airfield landing sites even though you may not be visual with the ground. I am sure I have misunderstood the point you were trying to make. I still fly light aircraft and when I am flying around I am looking out the window for suitable landing areas not consulting a map.
When flying an airliner I will always have an idea of suitable airfields en route with 100 NM range rings around them as a guide to glide distance. When flying outside of Europe I will always have open at the correct place the relevant IFR chart and note the sector frequencies should I lose comms but if you still maintain that you do what I precised in my first sentence then I make the following conclusions:
1. Your company provide an infinite number of 1/4 or 1/2 mill charts or you fly over a very limited route network. You could perhaps have access to electronic charts.
2. After a long flight you would be mentally exhausted.
3. Your efforts at PNF or PF would be more productive in other areas.
4. You have little excess capacity/time to engage with your other crew members.
OR
You are not a commercial airline pilot (other than a very small local operator such as Loganair).
To answer the OP question. I think most of the posts so far have been pretty sound and are regurgetated lessons learnt from over 100 years of aviation. With regard to handling non normal situations I would add gather as much information as possible from as many sources as possible BEFORE making your decision and don't be affraid to review and amend your decision if things change. Another mnemonic
D Diagnose the problem
O Options generate
D Decide course of action
A Assign tasks and Actions
R Review decision
Happy New Year to all regardless the size of aircraft and area of the world you fly in.