Pax Briefing Tips
 

Having got my ticket and started taking a few willing volunteers aloft i'd like some pointers on Pax briefings as i find mine are leaving a bit to be desired.

I try to be chatty and informal and focus on the 'if you feel sick' part but when you get to the bit about engine failures and things we will do in case of this, motioning to the doors and fire extinguishes etc.. i've seen a few nervous shifts in the seats or looks of strangled horror.

Anybody got a fool proof way of mentioning eventualities and DVA's without scaring the hell out of your perspective avgas voucher,.. i mean passenger.

Thanks.

The old SAFETY acronym comes to mind:

Seatbealts
Air vents
Fire extinguisher
Egress or Emergency - how to operate the doors etc
Talk - that they should keep the talk to a minimum during take offs and landings.
Your comments - here I normally ask them to help me keep a lookout for traffic, which many enjoy doing.

Barf bag doesn't fit into this, but it should.

I usually brief the following things (of course in the event they have flown with me before, the briefing is shorter):
- how to get into and out of the airplane without damaging it (and without my assistance in case of emergency)
- use of seatbelt
- fire on start procedures (they evacuate while I deal with the fire)
- location of fire extinguisher
- position during takeoff (especially for the person sitting on the front right-hand seat) - hands on knees and feet off the pedals
- intercom communications (no talk from before start until I say it's OK - usually when out of runway heading)
- air sickness (I always have at least one sickness bag for each pax)

I always comfort them by explaining that possibility of an emergency in a light aircraft is very remote, but nontheless I've been trained to deal with them and have reviewed the procedures the day before (something I do just to keep them in memory). If this is their first flight with a light aircraft, I explain that there will be different forces, which could be exaggerated, but I tell them there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of and that I will try to make flight as comfort as possible. For the passengers slightly scared of heights I try to explain that higher is safer, but I usually fail at this :hmm: The most difficult thing during briefing is to keep pax from running away when they see 35-year old C172 that we are about to fly in :}

and...

- how to operate the life raft
- I make sure the passenger next to the #2 door can actually open and close it (while I watch)
- how to use the headsets, and how to not b*gger them up

Dont mention 'engine failures'! Your probably taking someone whos never been in a light a/c before, the last thing thry want to hear is that the engine might quit. "in the unlikely event that we need to use them....the fire extinguisher and first aid box are located here" will suffice. The only other thing I include is a demo of how to operate the door and seatbelt.

Thanks guys, some good points here, and i'd never seen that acronym before very useful.
I'm interested in what FyingStone says about forces, do you explain that they will feel more acceleration, g in turns? i try and keep any tight turns to a minimum.

I learnt to talk to the pax during the flight esp in the landing phase as chopping back to near idle when your starting to deploy flap makes the engine go real quiet! it freaked my wife out so i explian this now, she thought it had quit!

most pax get freaked out by the size of the aircraft, i normally fly a tommie but i upgraded to a battered Archer for one flight, one passenger exclaimed 'its sooooo small' I had to explain for me it was big a plane :-)

anybody have a standard patter for engine failures? anybody ever mention EFATO? we were taught to expalin this but it seems a little dramatic?

Thanks.

If I've got rear seat passengers (PA28) I always mention which order they should leave the aircraft if they need to evacuate, i.e., I'll be the last one out, and that they should walk to the rear of the aircraft.

Once airborne I also ask them to let me know if they see any traffic; it gives them a sense of involvement, and works quite well.

Hi,

While there is a huge Safety Sense leaflet on the CAA web site covering this, it does mention you have to use what is appropriate. So good question.

I work as a flying instructor. On trial flying lessons - and indeed all lessons - one has to be careful not to overload the student.

A trial lesson especially, since it is all new to them.

You need to be in control.
You need to let them know this, so they stay quiet when you ask them too.
They need to know what to touch, and what not to touch.
They need to know how to get in and out the aircraft, and how to adjust their harness.
They need to know where to go - ie safe arc, away from prop - in case of an emergency evacuation.
They need to know they can tell you what they think - ie if they are suffering discomfort.

(if going over water, you may want to add life jacket, life raft etc)

Keep it short, or they'll never remember anything useful - like how to open the door.

You don't need to mention engine failures, cockpit fires, airsickness, fire extinguishers, first aid boxes etc. I have done a first aid course. The box is next to useless if you haven't had training, and if you have had training, it is next to useless since you can improvise! (different for very remote areas)

Don't mention air sick! Tell someone not to think of a bright green elephant, and the first thing they think of is.....? So use words like discomfort!

Many will be producing large amounts of adrenaline at this moment, no need to increase the flow with stuff about EFATO etc. If you have one and crash, you have told them how to get out. If you have one and don't crash, then why brief. Even on a real EFATO, you can have a surprising amount of time!

I usually start with: Just like on a passenger aircraft, by law we are required to give you a safety brief. .....

On a weightshift microlight I then go: The emergency exits are here, here and .... wave all around. But you must be careful of the propellor - when it is spinning you cannot see it and it will chop you up!

I try and keep it serious, but lighthearted. Just like the flythomson video one with the kiddies doing the brief!

In addition to what's been said, here are two other things on my pax briefing list:

- Cellphones off
- "My controls"/"Your controls" if I'm going to let the pax steer the aircraft for a while.
- The route we're going to fly. In fact, I typically carry last years chart specifically for this.

Furthermore, I've got a few items that I'm covering specifically for aerobatics flights:

- How to deal with g-forces: Look straight ahead, don't turn your head. (We're not exceeding 4g on these aeros flights, so squeezing/breathing techniques do not need to be covered, and you can't really learn this from a verbal briefing anyway.)
- How to deal with airsickness (Yes, I cover this specifically on aeros flights as the chances of getting sick are much higher. But also, by suspending the aeros or going back to the field, I also have way more options to deal with it. If you do get sick while flying straight and level there's not a lot I can do.)
- How to deal with the "grab something" reflex. (During some abrubt manoevers, pax sometimes have the reflex to want to grab something. One pax grabbed my throttle arm during a spin, and another pax (an instructor even) grabbed and blocked the stick during spin recovery. Since then, I always brief my pax to grab their shoulder belts if they want to grab something in a reflex. Works very well.)
- And I specifically talk the pax through the manoevers we're going to perform.

The pax brief list is a sticker on the back of my kneeboard - a very useful place for all these non-aircraft-specific lists.

Flyingkiwi,

Im not sure where you've got this idea about speaking about engine failures from. You dont get on a typical commercial flight to listen to a captain babbling about engine failures on take off....or aborted take off's...uncontained smoke or fire on start up etc:eek: You'd frighten the life out of nearly every passenger on board. Perhaps whilst training for your PPL you've been in the habit of giving a brief to your instructor regarding emergencies. You are now however giving a brief to a passenger and not an FI or examiner. As others have suggested, if you think about the brief you get on a typical airliner....how the seatbelt works, where the exits are, and where the life jacket is and how it works.....thats about it really. As for air sickness, I never mention the word. I do however tell them that if theyre too hot or too cold, or feel a bit stuffy then please say and i'll adjust the temperature. I then tell them theres a fresh air vent if they need it. They can read between the lines. Assuming they want to be a bit more than just a 'passenger' then brief the controls etc accordingly and tell them where to place hands and feet. Just use common sense without scaring them. If its a first flight for them, remember that they'll probably be excited and a little anxious so dont overload them with lots of info...as they wont listen! I do typical gift voucher trial lessons for people and you'd be amazed at how quickly it go's in one ear and out the other.

Mike I agree with what you say but would just add that light GA is slightly different in the fact that the PAX are aware of everything going on up front as well as all the bells and whistles.

On a Seneca Five the auto disconnect sets off a buzzer which is way to loud.
I once had a passenger who was alarmed by what she thought was something going wrong on the approach to landing so now I will tell PAX not to worry about the loud buzz.

Even in private jets the PAX are much more involved in what is going on up front and hear audable warnings :E "Pull up Pull up, Terrain pull up. Glideslope Glideslope" usually turn the damn thing off :O

Pace

Indeed....but if only there was some bells and whistles to talk about on the average flying club wreckage 152! I'd rather not tell them about the broken ADF or bust AI:}

Mike I always thought you had terrain avoidance in the beat up wreck of a 152 ? Last time I had a check ride in one this voice kept saying
" pul up pull up terrain terrain :E

Pace

In addition to the above I'll make a quick mention just before descending towards the circuit for landing in regards to the stall warner as I have had a passenger get quite anxious a second or two before touchdown when they heard that.

I show them how to use the headset (that usually takes a while), how to strap in and out and how to open the door. For the rest its all on a card which I give them.

KISS

- I cover a little more if we are doing aeros because they will almost certainly be or feel very sick. ;)

The rest - we just chat as we go.

Something like - we are going to land now, dont worry I have done it a few time before - oh and its probably best not talk during this phase unless you really need to, dont worry about the beeps and voices warning of 500 feet - well not too much anyway. Seems to about cover it.

Fuji

Ok maybe slightly different taking some PAX on a nice day for a short flight to get an aerial view of their homes but PAX can be very different and we do need to be aware that what we see as fun maybe silent terror for them.
I can remember a few years back collecting 2 business ladies from Germany.
The flight over to the UK was uneventful flown IFR airways at around FL100 both ladies were happy.
The return was a different picture. a front had moved in with embedded Cbs in an overcast and a 700 ft cloudbase.
I had to climb to FL130 to get on top of the main cloud and to eyeball the CBs. The main cloudtops increased forcing a further climb and the instructions to fit oxygen masks.
The one lady was happy the other appeared happy. Levelling at FL190 with no possibility of a descent the one lady starting complaining that she could not breath and started to hyperventilate.
We cleared the front and I took a descent at the earliest possible to FL100.
The one woman refused to remove her oxygen mask as if she would die if she did.
The whole point of light GA is that the PAX are very much part of what is going on so I would agree that a briefing in all reality is an ongoing thing.
Watch out for PAX who are normally bubbly who go silent or for silent ones who go hyper.

Fuji in response to your comments but not directed at you :)

Pace

Yes; one needs to do a lot more on an airways flight. I file those for FL140-180 and then ask for a level off when above the cloud as far as the eye can see, but one needs to be able to climb subsequently all the way to FL200 if necessary, so a briefing on the oxygen system is necessary. One also has to sort out the cannulas in advance as they are not really re-usable items :)

I would not any flight with an evidently nervous passenger, but I find they tend to not be interested in flying "GA" in the first place... but then I don't fly commercially.

10540

I dont think it has much to do with flying commercially? One of the worst I had was flying an owner pilot with an IMCR to Belfast. he asked me to go as the forecast was not good and the flight was in a single retractable.
500 foot cloudbase so filed IFR at FL80.
The passenger/IMCR pilot appeared very unhappy about climbing on top to FL80 but thinking we would be better in the sunshine than in the clag I insisted.
As we passed FL60 he became more and more distressed,Breathing fast and looking nervous.
In the sunshine on top of solid he kept asking for a descent back into IMC which was crazy and only relaxed when past the IOM the clouds broke up and you could see the sea between the breaks.
On the return in the afternoon the weather was good VFR and he flew back his normal chirpy self.
Maybe its me having a bad effect on the PAX :E The above is true

Pace

Unless flying over water, "Cellphones off 'coz they make that funny clicking noise over the radio, seatbelt on all the time, door opens like this. Don't worry about accidentally touching the controls. Now, sit back and enjoy the view. Oh, and you don't need to shout.."

The mentioned CAA Safety Sense leaflet is here:

Safety Sense Leaflet 02: Care of Passengers

Thank you all some really good advice here, i always thought "why am i telling them about this" when breifing engine failures. In answer to MIKECR's question This kind of PAX briefing is part of the exam check flight and i was taught to breif passengers this way. Infact after breifing one instructor about what i will do if we had an EFATO he let me climb to 300 ft and promptly closed the throttle and sat back with arms folded :-) when i asked what he thought he was doing he said "you breifed me on it, and we've had one, where are you going ? <to put it down>"

I think its sensible to follow your advice and brief them on the need to know stuff, seat belts doors, vents, odd noises, no talking at times, don't walk forward of the wing :-) etc.. I always ask on take of and landing phases they have arms by their sides and feet on the flooor and show the the rudder peddals to explain why, then i tell them 'we are in the take off/landing phase' so they know.

I also have a little trick that a comercial areobatic pilot taught me, the "Thumbs up/Down" approach. He said sometimes you won't get a verbal response, so Thumbs Up = i'm ok lets keep going, Thumbs down = Lets go home. I did this with my young nephew on board (who usually talks constantly) and never got a verbal reply just a thumbs up and a smile.

Thanks All very useful,

Briefing
 

I always mention that aircraft engines are designed differently to car engines. Whilst aircraft engines are designed to be very reliable when running they are not necessary easy to start, unlike your car engine which will start at half a rotation. Always mention it before attempting to start up.

This tends to avoid any alarms if you need to "fight" the engine a bit to get it started.

I think I saw the tip on here and it's certainly calmed a few pax.

Though perhaps I missed it in the foregoing, I have not seen here a briefing on the ELT, it is sometimes worth a briefing under some circumstances.

I brief all pasengers about operation of doors and seatbelts. As for controls, I brief passengers that I want their heels on the floor, and their feet ON the rudder pedals (if the seat is set so they could reach). I tell them that they will feel the pedals moving, and they are not to resist this movement. My reasons for this are two: I once had a passenger, whom I told to put his feet flat on the floor, get is rather large boot jammed, and it limited the travel of the pedal during landing. You will find in many planes that the location of an adult's knees, with their feet flat on the floor, is much higher than when on the pedals. I would rather over power feet, than have the control wheel jammed on their knees at the very worst time. As long as their heels are on the floor, their toes are not on the brakes.

Otherwise, the additional items I brief will depend upon the nature of the flight.

In addition to the foregoing, and particularly when flying over water, brief for unusual or inverted exit from the aircraft. In many aircraft, in particular most 100 series Cessnas, it is surprisingly easy to kick out the top of the winshield, and pop the whole thing out - great exit! This might be best reserved for later in the flight, or when a potential emergency shows the possible need in the very near future.

In addition, if passengers are new to you, what are they briefing you? Are you paying attention? Your biggest concern for non-emergency type passenger comfort are terrified passenger and airsick passenger. No passenger wants to admit that they are either. So what will they do? Nothing. They will sit still and say nothing. When you talk to them, they will not reply, or with very few words. If you have a very quiet passenger, they are briefing you, prepare to change something about the flight very soon, and probably you'll have to figure it out!

You're best passenger is a chatty youngster, they are doing fine, and you know they will pay attention to you if you demand it. (unless they are your teenagers - then forget it!)

What sort of plane are you flying that you not only have an axe on board, but also (presumably) the room to swing it around?

Most of the aircraft I've flown didn't even have a first aid kit nor a fire extinguisher and to be honest, I've never cared about them. Both are likely going to be as small as the regulations allow, which means they're useless in an actual emergency - not to mention past the expiration date by then.

The punter will often mention them first - "what happens if the engine stops?"

So I ask them what makes the thing fly ... with a variable amount of prompting they eventually get to "the wings" (on bad days I have to ask "how do gliders fly then" to get there). They then understand that if the engine stops the aircraft will continue to fly and they stop worrying.

If they're really keen I'll show them that lack of power dosn't mean falling out of the sky by pulling the throttle to idle whilst in the cruise.

Seriously though, I do include in the briefing that if we have to land in a field I'll ask them to open the door whilst we're still in the air and I really mean it - that won't be the time for them to start questioning whether I really said that and really meant it.

Though I stand to be corrected, all aircraft in New Zealand are required to carry a very imposing crash axe. It did seem odd, gazing in the cockpit of a 152, and seeing this disproportionately large axe strapped to the sidewall. It's probably very alarming to passengers!

Ours are tucked just behind the seat so the pilot can lunge over if need be, but yes they are regular old hickory handled axes :-) plus First Aid kit, Plus extinguisher, Plus Docs, plus flying kit (foggles, dipstick etc) .... i'm surprised i get fuel into the thing!

Since i rent all the planes i fly from the club they are all up to Air Transport Reg's so they have all the 'bits'...radios may not work ALL the time (push radio into the panel to talk) and the landing light needs replacing but you do have an axe :-)

I do have the odd how does it fly, question Wombat but i try not to pull the throttle to prove the point. I throttled back for landing with my wife in the right seat and as the change in noise level is quite marked, she was pretty sure the engine had quit! this lead to some alarmed noises until i managed to re-assure her.

I did the same thing and my missus nearly had a heart attack. Now I give a real quick brief on what I am going to do either before I do it or as I am doing it to assure my non pilot passengers that its me reducing power and not the engine quitting on its own. :}

Tell 'em that the "push to talk" is not the radio itself, but the little button on the control wheel! (or are you supposed to push them both at the same time, to prevent a stuck mic?)

A non threatening way to start the brief is "let me show you the safety features of this aircraft" and then proceed with the standard list.

The most important one that everyone forgets:

Have you been to the loo? There's nothing makes you want to go so much as knowing you can't.

I have a modified one: "As pilot in command I shall be last to leave the aircraft. If I manage to get past you first then you become pilot in command."

no the radio sometimes works loose from the panel and you need to push in a bit for RX and TX :-)

Hey Flyin Kiwi where you based?

Love it!!!!!! :ok: :D

Do some of you ever make it into the air. :)

A couple of other things I tend to mention too:

If the radio starts talking in our ears please stop talking to me as ATC might want to tell us something. When you have more experienced passengers they can become very proficient at hearing the aircraft callsign and muting themselves effectively!

If you fly from a grass airfield then it is always worth explaining that the takeoff and landing might be a bit bumpy - especially if you have someone who hasn't experienced any form of aviation away from long strips of concrete.

Also know your aircraft. I did a lot of my early flying in a C177 and it had a tendency to be really quite nose-heavy at low speeds (eg: as you flared and settled on the runway). This could translate to the nosewheel coming down quite hard - even with full back stick - and a mention of things like this can stop someone who isn't aware of it being suddenly worried.

The earlier comments about stall warners, a/p disconnect etc. warnings are other excellent examples of this. I'll brief that the aircraft has lots of things that beep and complain in the headsets - they are all normal, and specifically mention that the stall warning will make a noise just as we touch down as this one does un-nerve passengers.

Paul.

I tend to brief that they are engaging in a hightly dangerous activity and are putting their life on the line from the moment they step onto the apron - that is of course why they need to don yelow jackets and why we will form a cordon around them as they make their way across the apron.

I then explain that they will feel sick, they will be thrown about in the aircraft from the moment we start the engine until after we stop the engine and they will instantly develop an insatiable desire to go to the loo - which I will explain we do not have. With luck this should make their desire even more insatiable. I will encourage them not to open the door to relieve themselves, even though I am about to thoroughly brief on opeing the door.

I will point out that they will hear all sorts of alarms going off, can expect to panic during every phase of the flight, must make sure they know how to exit the aircraft blindfolded and may only speak when told to unless of course they hold a radio telephone licence.

I will be at pains to give them a detailed explanation of the mechanical characteristics of aero engine and the physics of a wing and point out that its an aircraft in which we are sitting and not a plane, because if it were I would be a carpenter and not a pilot even though there is a hammer. Of course I will then proceed to instruct them in the use of the hammer.

Finally I will point out that I will shortly be handing out multiple choice questions on the afore brief. Anyone achieving less than 95% will be ask to sit in the corner of the hangar for the duration of the flight.

I think that about covers it, doesnt it?

You forgot the part about checking their life insurance and their will is up to date. Oh, and whether they'll want to be buried or cremated 'cause that'll make a difference to your landing technique.

Blimey O' Riley, some poeple here sound like they are preparing for a space shuttle launch:ooh:
Private flying is supposed to be a fun exercise. I wonder if some of our contributors also think we should wear helmets and flying suits... :E

DFC