Captain decisions

[gatbusdriver]

I think the point is that there are no hard and fast rules for any situation, which is why the decision making models are a good place to start.

Use of automatics is very important (if appropriate). Of course, as BOAC points out, in an unrelaible airspeed scenario the drills are along the lines of F/D's off, A/P off then set appropriate pitch and power. So in that case you obviously would not use the A/P.

Before I embark on a course of action I ask myself/fo why am I doing it, and what are the implications of my action. You can of course change/tweak your decision. That is why the review/check part is so important in DODAR/FORDEC.

[Piltdown Man]

Whichever decision making model you use, always start from a strong position, therefore, in the short term I start with by:

Flying the aircraft - Agreeing the failure - Performing the memory items, if any - Executing the Abnormal Checklist - Running the Normal Checklist, if any.

You now have safe(ish) aircraft. Pick a model to help you make the next decision.

What I have been taught to do is gather information - MEL, AOM's, Circuit Breakers, Fuel on board, Weather, Performance Limitations, Cabin Crew, ATC, Company, NOTAMS and so on.

Now decide. Then...

Set up FMS, Inform ATC (not forgetting to let them know of any special requirements) then execute plan.

Now inform Cabin Crew (NITS or something similar), Company, Passengers etc. Maybe a quick recap to confirm that you are being sensible.

[JetSyndrome]

...make a better decision model tree?

Decision making models are about one thing, and one thing only; desperate attempts by PWOCs to explain complex systems using oversimplified models. A Psychologist Without a Clue will always try to pick things apart, reduce complex situations down to separate distinct and clearly defined moments (often totally different from how they were perceived by the crew), invent fancy labels and theories and make even fancier flow charts and drawings. Thing is, it will never work that way once the brown stuff enters the fan. The only thing that has been proven to work reasonably well is what the Military and many major airlines do:
a) extensive aptitude testing b) excellent training c) experience d) more experience e) sh!tloads of luck
If you are unable to fly and think at the same time, cannot remember what the tech manual says, get easily stressed and become aggressive during pressure, all the world's decision making models will not help you. Those who excel during emergencies rarely have a clue about their decision making process, or which model tree they are using. They just do it (the "Nike Approach" - came up with that one myself just now!).

Complete your training, study you FCOM/FCTM and OMs. Be intimately familiar with your QRH (not your FO), and as you gain more experience and knowledge, you will gradually build CONFIDENCE and CAPTAINCY - which often makes a huge difference in itself. You can't change who you are, just do your best, things will usually turn out all right

[Centaurus]

In any abnormal situation, and if it's available, maximize use of the autopilot. Many relatively easily managed emergencies have ended badly by trying to hand fly the aeroplane out of it.

On the other hand wasn't it the Eygpt Air 737 captain who after initially failing to engage the autopilot shortly after a dark night take off, finished up in a steep spiral dive into the sea while still shouting to his first officer "ENGAGE THE AUTOPILOT" - end of recording....

[coco-nuts]

How about sorting things in this order.

1. What will kill you first?
2. What will kill you next?
3. Then DODAR etc.

[piratepete]

Keep it simple

"BANG!!" etc........

LEVEL OFF (MSA?)
SLOW IT DOWN(MCP SPEED WINDOW)

ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM(QRH OR ECAM ACTIONS ETC...)

DECIDE....RETURN or CONTINUE

BBBC(airspeed and altimeter Bugs, autoBrakes, Briefing for approach, and CHECKLIST).....if to return.

Ask your other pilot..."what have I missed?".NITS is a given......

LAND THE BLOODY THING........seen this performed very well countless times in the SIM as a TRE, works quite well in the aircraft too.....Pete.

[charlie04]

Decision Making Models

Our company introduced PIOSEE to RYR around 8 years ago; however, as demonstrated in this thread, there are a number of alternatives - my favourite now being DILDO.

When we are running decision making sessions, in CRM training courses for our clients, we generally introduce a DM model. However the nature of any specific decision will dictate whether or not such a model can be of any benefit. A decision might, for example, have to be taken with such urgency that there would be no time to even think about a model, let alone use one.

For us therefore, the key part of decision making is the review once the decision has been implemented. It is at this stage that a DM model can have real benefit in putting some structure to the review and in considering what, if any, further actions are required.

[MD83FO]

if my company implements an abnormals SOP which mandates the use of DODAR work flow, will i be obligated to give up my intuitive approach to a situation?
What i think is that in an emergency i can deviate as required,
would like to hear some thoughts.

thanks.

[Mach E Avelli]

When the fertilizer impacts the fan and your brain simply can 't recall DORDAR, GRADE, NITS and all the other acronyms, call for a nice cup of tea, take a calming breath and apply CDF.
Common Dog ***k. It may not be a pretty sight but it is effective.

[Centaurus]

The rationale is that handling the aircraft should be well within their capabilities

The man must be a religious type as he has FAITH in his first officer. The rationale is flawed. If the bloke in the right hand seat is experienced and the captain knows from previously flying with him that he can handle the situation efficiently, then all well and good. On the other had if you have an MPL as second in command with no skills except button pushing, then best fly it yourself. Horses for courses.

[Good Business Sense]

downwindabeam

For what it's worth -

AVIATE, navigate, communicate (ATC, Company, Cabin Crew, Passengers) is the answer

If I was to say it in one line – FLY THE AEROPLANE

Interruptions will be your biggest enemy. Remember every one wants into your cockpit and a piece of your action. Keep them out (until you are ready – protect your management/thinking time) - Remember, interrupted checklists, crew communications and thought processes kill.

Keep the atmosphere calm in the cockpit - the other crew will work better for you if they’re not stressed out and being overloaded (including by you) - in many places ATC can be the biggest workload provider. More than once I've actually had the fifty questions thing with a major failure - even after asking them to standby several times

I hated the Engine failure ECAM in the airbus - from memory about the third item after thrust lever close etc was - ATC ADVISE - Now from previous experience I felt this was a bad thing, consider maybe, but, and I know I'll get flack for this, they are not going to help you 400 feet above the ground heading for the mountain with the engine on fire. Many crews (in the SIM) took this ECAM message as an instruction and pretty much engaged in a conversation with ATC to the total exclusion of any action or attention to the emergency at hand. Please don’t get the idea I’m anti ATC but the standards vary across the world. I’m really trying to say that calling ATC doesn’t help much in most situations but can distract and up the work load. The ATC recording of the BA777 Heathrow crash is just an amazing example of ATC at its best !

On the workload thing - if your FO is flying and comfortable then leave it with him/her as long as possible. Make management time !

Also no rush, there really isn't 99.9% of the time - had some really bad stuff but the aeroplane kept flying - if it does, take your time. Order a cup of tea from the cabin - fantastic for slowing the brain and calming the entire crew down. One of the most amazing things I ever saw in my time was a video of myself and crew dealing with a major emergency (volcanic ash - all engine failure) in the SIM.... the most amazing thing was that whilst you felt that time had gone into warp speed the video showed a very calm crew and almost no indication of an emergency in progress - so the pressure and the time compression is really all in your head. I felt that that videoed sim session was one of the top five learning experiences of my career - the cup of tea is important.

I always felt that time was the biggest pressure and that it was important to know, as soon as possible, how much time you had to deal with the situation and what the tightest constraint was - most of the time, assuming your wing wasn't being burned off, it would be fuel - quickly calculating or understanding how much time you have can relieve a whole lot of perceived pressure.

Prioritising is key - each warning on the warning system particularly on an EICAS/ECAM electronic display screams for attention - 95% of these warnings are symptoms of the real problem and are a low priority. Don't waste time (for now) on this stuff or let it get you into unimportant niff naff or worse still, lead you down the garden path - I say this in the knowledge of company SOPs and that these systems are supposed to prioritise for you but in reality once you get into multiple warnings, its a dog's breakfast. In addition, keeping in mind your could be drowning in warnings, sometimes it is very difficult indeed, in an emergency, to know exactly what your problem is - take your time to understand exactly what you are dealing with - resist the temptation to charge on down a particular road before you are really happy you know exactly what the situation is.

Know how to cancel your alarms - you won't be able to think if they're going off continuously. I often get angry about the comments aimed at the AF447 crew - the one thing nobody realises on that one is that the level of noise in that cockpit from alarms that couldn't be cancelled would have been unbearable ... something that doesn't come across on a transcript or on a TV documentary.

In my experience people over think an emergency and have intricate/complicated multiple step mental procedures ready to deal with events - keep it simple - you'll already be a little stressed, you don't want to add to it E.g. depressurisations - first, you want the mask on and working STOP now we need to go down and not hit anything (aircraft or terrain) STOP

Never make a drama out of a crisis - i.e. don't make things worse by trying to be smart and don't do too many what ifs. You might not make the best decisions, you might get something wrong and be picked up by the Monday morning quarterbacks but don't second guess yourself - gut feeling is one of the most underrated senses there is. An undamaged aeroplane on the ramp disembarking uninjured passengers is a very successful outcome and is pretty hard to argue with. I was always a great believer in going ugly early !!

Finally – FLY THE AROPLANE – do not get clever and heads down on the FMS – the basic modes such as HDG, ALT and OP DES/FLCH on the MCP etc might be the quickest, clearest way of dealing with flying the aircraft on the automatics and very importantly, they don't need a heads down cross check from the other guy. I think the FMS is a threat in many ways – from heads down to adding to the workload - people cannot stop playing with it as the first … and last response to everything that happens in the cockpit (bit like smartphones) – after one severe engine failure at night in the climb with the FO flying I was doing the check lists etc and twice I had to stop him going heads down and playing/programming with the FMS – remember he was flying. One reason he gave was that we need to get the descent in for the approach for the return …. my response was we’re at 25,000 feet we need about 85 miles – we’re a hundred on the DME and it looks like 135 track miles minimum. When the DME says 85 we can go open descent - we've also got another 20-30 minutes to do it, should we wish ! Distraction, priority, workload – all three ???

Remember, if you really are under serious pressure and sh1t and fan are coming together get back to real basics - know your bottom lines - Declare a mayday and now you can do what you want - TELL ATC what you are going to do - know how to get the gear down on the emergency system, you could land with the flaps up (know a ball park speed for the approach and landing distance) and if you have to hit something then do it wings level. Knowing back stops will give you confidence.

Agree with BOAC ref. these mnemonics - REVIEW is the important thing

Jetsyndrome advice is excellent - the emergency won't necessarily come at you as you expect and in a nice mnemonic/SOP order - don't forget in an emergency priorities can change very quickly so you don't want to be mentally shackled.

Love coco-nuts' first two points

Mach E Avelli - brilliant and absolutely spot on

The above is offered under the following caveat:

SUNSCREEN (google it - great advice for life !!)

Wear sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

Apologies, didn't mean to write War and Peace - Best wishes

[Tee Emm]

Whichever decision making model you use, always start from a strong position

I agree and you can forget all this DODAR. FORDEC crap. The flight deck is not a kindergarten. Next we hear someone will pin pretty coloured flight safety messages around the flight deck roof to remind pilots of all the useful acronyms. But if you are flying a Boeing just remember the QRH is your friend.

Colleague in Africa took off in a 737 with the gear pins in place. Naturally gear failed to retract. Colleague (captain) called for appropriate QRH checklist. The local F/O literally panicked and called upon his particular religious deity for help, wailing all the time they were all going to die. Captain told him to stop the religious crap and get on with reading the landing gear problem checklist from the QRH.

F/O by now was out of his mind with fear whereupon the captain grabbed the QRH and smacked the wailing F/O over the head with it and said now read the bloody checklist. The shock action worked and the local F/O calmed down proving the QRH was more powerful a God than his own Deity. Remember when all seems lost the QRH is your friend. Beats DODAR and FORDEC every time

[BOAC]

As I said in post #16, all these mnemonics are extremly useful if you have no innate logical problem solving ability. As GBS says, at least they prompt you to REVIEW the decisions. It can be that forcing some people into a rigid mnemonic when they have their own 'abilities' might be detrimental, but I am a firm believer in

all this DODAR. FORDEC crap

even if it is done 'under your breath' so as not to appear less sky-goddish. Don't forget that your flight deck colleague may not be quite such a hot-shot.

It is worth remembering that the 'Holy QRH' is only part of the overall process of handling a problem and that just getting to the bottom of the checklist and relaxing is a futile and stupid approach.

[Big Pistons Forever]

There is IMO a big disconnect in situations that you get in training and what actually happens on the line. The OMG big deal situations that you deal with in training ( eg V 1 Engine fail, inflight fires etc etc) almost never happen. Instead you get quite a lot of "undesirable but not not really emergencies" events that happen on a fairly regular basis.

How these are handled separates the true "Commander" from the children of the magenta. When asked how I deal with these I tell folks I use a pretty simple Decision matrix:

1) Do I have a problem ? Sometimes things may be happening with the airplane but after a moments reflection it isn't worth going to action stations for and in fact no action, other than a post flight write up is required.

2) If I have a problem is it my problem or someone else who needs to deal with it ? That is ATC, Dispatch, maintenance control etc ?

3) If it is my problem do I have to deal with it NOW or is it something I should give it a good think around before coming to a decision on how to act ?

Remember there is almost nothing that will happen to you that will require instant action. Fast hands kill !

[glendalegoon]

step one, watch the film, "THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY"

step two, regardless of which seat you occupy, conduct yourself like john wayne.


FLY the FREAKING PLANE and make sure of your speed, altitude , pitch bank and yaw

NOW, WIND THE CLOCK

then decide what is going on and deal with it.

IF on fire, land