[Flyin'Dutch']

Following on from another thread I was thinking, what do people do to try and stop themselves from becoming a statistic.

None of us are infallible - being imperfect myself I am very much aware of that.

What do you do in aviation to try and stop yourself from ending up with an accident/incident.

I will kick off:

1. Towbar is in my hand or against the wall where I can see it when starting the engine
2. Keys from the luggage locker are either in the lock or the lock is locked.

[johnm]

Checklists, checklists, checklists....

Pre-flight walk round, start up, navigation and radio set up, autopilot, power checks at the hold, pre-take off checks at the hold, take off run, after take off, approach, after landing and runway cleared, shutdown.

[Rob P]

Line up for take off.

Waggle the stick and check everything moves in the right direction (just like it did three or four minutes earlier)

Tug REALLY HARD on both the shoulder strap buckles until they are painfully tight.

This has saved me once, so far.

Rob P

[PeteSpencer]

+ 1 for the towbar(I wonder why? ) which stays in my hand until the a/c is out of the hangar and the a/c is in position for startup-during this time the baggage door is pinned open, and not locked shut till towbar stowed.

Pitot cover is removed and stuck in my shirt chest pocket while pre-flighting with six inches of red banner hanging out for all to see:

I look down for the red tape when sitting in a/c ready to go and remove pitot cover from my pocket and wrap it round the removed gust-lock, which is stowed in RHS well pocket, again with red tape hanging visible.....

Never not used the checklist in its entirety , even at stopovers, and if pax, despite warning, natters during checklist I go to the top of the current page again.

Finally I allow twice the time from front door to lift-off compared to what I allowed 20 years ago.

Peter

[Paul_Sengupta]

Don't push on in bad weather. Keep the speed up on climbout. Don't fly low level aerobatics.

[Shoestring Flyer]

Yes, pushing on in deteriorating weather is so easy to do isn't it!.. The get-home-itis trap is something that I think we have all fallen into from time to time!

[leiafee]

To the best off my ability maintain situational awareness of “which field if it swallows a cog right now” with an eye to “and what about if it does so in ten minutes time”

Practising the basics, slow flight, stalls, steep turns, PFLs etc routinely. Particularly when I’m flying with no other purpose than to be flying.

Expanding boundaries gently without taking on too many different things all at once - e.g if the weather is flyable but right on my personal limit (which is inveitably lower than the aircraft limit) then I’ll go somewhere familiar not somewhere new.

[MattL]

1) keeping really, really current in handling disciplines such as PFL, stalling, EFATO, various configurations circuits (+ spin aeros for those qualified)

2) going ‘into the bubble’ when starting the crew in process until well after shutdown - that means phones off, no other chats/calls, not permitting interruptions etc.. Distraction is a huge factor.

[Rob L]

Checklists, checklists, checklists....

I'm not so sure. I knew a very high-houred C172 pilot who constantly & routinely relied upon the written checklist such that it became a routine. On one flight he missed the bleeding obvious. Fortunately without a dramatic outcome. [loss of all oil; he had lifted the dipstick and looked but failed to see]

With time comes experience; look beyond the routine.

Rob

[johnm]

Interesting, I'm careful to do the touchy feely cross referencing things and without a script I'd end up in the air with something not done I suspect. The checklists are written with that in mind for example the item on oil:

OIL (minimum 6 quarts)

which has the side effect of making one read the dipstick.

[Rallye]

Taking my time before take off,check list and if interrupted i reread all the items.
And flying the most secure aircraft ever build,a Rallye.My life insurance.

[rogerb]

Remind myself that there is always another day.

[Boxkite]

Before I do anything, or decide not to do something, I consider how it would read in an AAIB report.

[IMCR]

Hmmm, some of these may result in an appearance in the accident statistics, but it probably will not be that serious.

The question therefore I think depends on whether it is a minor feature in the stats. or something far more serious you seek to avoid.

When you look at the stats. I think we can all call out the ones that will probably kill you, the vast majority being to do with weather for one reason and another and various forms of loss of control (where weather isnt a contributory factor).

I think these are the key target areas. The panacea is setting weather limits you are comfortable with, and never, ever being tempted to exceed them, being really up to speed on every critical emergency, be it an engine failure in a twin on T/O, to the same in a single with the nose pointing to the heavens, but only a few hundred feet on your way. Rehearse most routines, so you are confident what you are going to do when that door comes open, there is a fire in cabin, or the engine starts misbehaving. Ask others who have experienced the situation before. The first time I had a door come open on a particular type, I had been lead to believe the results would probably be catastrophic. Clearly this wasnt based on actual experience, and although not pleasant it was mangeable. I would have been far better prepared if I had had a better idea what to expect. Same with gear up, which can go pretty badly wrong. Well worth being totally familiar with every aspect of gear up landings (or the ways you might first get the gear down) before setting off. I know of a instrument examiner who encountered exactly this on a test, and was 'phoning the mainteance company whilst orbitting to discuss the three systems that were available. OK, more systems than is usual, but worth knowing for example exactly where the gas bottle is to blow down the gear and how to activate it.

So in summary rehearsing these drills, and I mean really rehearsing them, talking to pilots who have been there be it on the specific type forums or just between friends, never, ever pushing weather limits, these are the things that will hopefully keep you out of the more serious accident stats, and cause you far less stress should you encounter any of them and therefore much more likely to perform in a carm and structured manner.

I think there are very few situations that arent potentially survivable, but there are a lot of scenarios we have never rehearsed or really though about, and it is our lack of being prepared, knowing what to expect, and knowing whether it warrants an immediate reaction or there are those golden minutes to properly and carmly think it through before committing.

[A4 Pacific]

Following on from another thread I was thinking, what do people do to try and stop themselves from becoming a statistic.

I have said elsewhere we are all hardwired to err! There are strategies we will all learn to try to combat that. But we’ll all be caught out by the human condition sooner or later.

However the two most important things in aviation I can think of to avoid the very worst of the worst is:

A) Never ever accept breaking the rules. UNLESS you know precisely what you are doing. The potential consequences, and why on that PRECISE occasion it is both essential AND justified. (Not just a regular occurrence, and/or the new normal!)

B) Never ever stop flying the aeroplane. Fly the machine to the total exclusion of EVERYTHING else, until it is utterly unambiguously safe to address any other matters. Omit that first (and continuous) step and you will die, whatever you have achieved in the meantime.

The more you can build on those two basics the better. But they must be the unshakeable foundation.

Accidents/incidents are inevitable. Death is frequently avoidable. Make your choices now.

Oh, and I would also watch videos such as Paul Bertorelli of avweb on youtube:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KI1QKEsxw8k&t=47s