Hi Brian,(AND TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE READ MY ARTICLE) thanks for reading this topic and responding in the way that you did.It was reassuring of my thinking as I see my thoughts aligned with the more experienced piots like yourself who have had the priviledge of operating in beautiful Lexington .I didnt even know where Lexington was before the crash(I come from Kenya)!This unfortunate tragedy was not only an opportunity to learn and reinforce my current knowledge, it also provided me an opportunity to tour the beautiful country in my flight simulator
.With the understandable constraints such as RTOW you quoted as wel as what I guessed to be a day time runway,I am querying the degree of realism in my simulator now, as I managed to conduct 3 consecutive safe flights in IMC 500 FT cloud base in rain departing from RWY 26 and arriving on 22 on a VOR/NDB approach I mentally constructed(as I had no access to approach plates).It still required a significant amount of tight low level maneuvering and strict vigilance when visual..on a DC9-30!
I suspect the navaids should be relocated to provide a closer alignment to the runway, considering the threat that the local topography presents.I also feel the greenery close to the clear-way of rw 26 should be cleared further afield.Whatever happened to the fate of the poor Co-Pilot? What protection from the media and interrogation exists in the industryfor the surving crew after an accident in USA?
You might notice that in all my commentry I had not passed judgement on Human factors.It would however be impertinent
not to shed some light on this matter.
1.
From Pilots' perspective:
A) Any entrance on a runway, upon alignment(whether taxying forward or backtrack, crossing a runway intersection,or if aligned and cleared for take off) to take the opportunity, when on a steady unaccelerated pace, to cross check the compass readings (#1,#2,stand-by compass, and sensible readings from the RMDIs).
B) As you had mentioned: for the taxi phase of flight, the primary charts to be used are the TAXYIING charts-and the
accountable officer being the Pilot Monitoring additional to calling out the taxi junctions and turning reference points as they
are reached(as the taxyiing pilot is busy maneuvering)as well as offering guidance support and traffic clearance and any obstacle annunciation.Importantly, there ought to be more formality in accepting and verifying taxyiing clearances visually reference to the valid and NOTAM referenced taxyiing charts(especialy at complex aprons-no matter how small the aerodrome).
2.
From an ATC perspective A) Prior to clearing an aircraft for take off, after all standard procedures have been adhered to), ensure that:
the runway is scanned for traffic,debri,or any other incursions(people,animals,birds...as often was often the case when I flew
in bushy East Africa!)-those binoculars and flash beams are part of the pre-take off clearance check list arent they??
B)ATC should have it in conscience that they are clearing an aircraft(with people and cargo) for Take off(the most critical
phase in flight by accident statistics) and that THEY are in control of the flight too...and should be their primary concern using
all resources within their means until flight is out of sight AND radio frequency handover is assigned.ATC are the Pilots' official
extra pair of eyes and it is THEY who may be able to intervene a take off decision to abort in case of abnormalities beyond the
pilots' peripheral vision and awareness...smokes, fires, component fall outs,panel blow outs,.to name but a few...
May I emphasise that CRM is not limited to within cockpit resorces and ATC(the macroscopic CRM),ramp staff, cabin crew, and
passenger comments during any phase of flight can also be seriosly reckoned with.
A final point that I think is noteworthy particularly in scheduled operations (where time keeping sometimes out of obsession), challenges or supercedes safety.Once cleared for take off..it should not be rush RUSH
RUSH!!!! I had been inolved in a situation where my commander's over confident(if not arrogant nature) created the start of a chain of events that could have breached safety if compounded by more carelessness from my part(was only a fresh FO at the tail end of my training and therefore not expected to be assertive if I was interested in checking out!)..where after unnnecessary long winded critique whilst taxying out, already running late, and a long winded apologetic PA from my Capt. he made me pause the pre take off checklist (whilst he was oratoring)and ended up rushed on to the runway on a rolling take off whilst attempting to clear the remaining items in the checklist(he was Pilot flying!).Talking about CRM mis-coordination!Somehow when that happens, do you notice how things accelerate faster than you would like them to?it is this sort of event occurrence that could lead to disocating you out of the 'state of mind envelope' required for take off.I BELIEVE THAT EVERY PHASEOF FLIGHT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT STATE OF MIND , MENTAL PREPARATION AND LEVEL OF AGGRESSION TO STAY IN CONTROL WITH THE AIRCRAFT AND THE FLYING ENVIRONMENT IN GENERAL.Please correct meif I am wrong on the matter.
It would interest me to gain feed back on this article from NTSB and hope that we can learn a little more.I am based in UAE presently and had previously flown in Kenya.I hope to relocate to CANADA to taste the crisp cool sky up there.If you have any experiences that you wish to share over ATC or flying culture in Canada, I would be delighted if you could enlighten me.
Have great flights and ..stay out of trouble mate!
Rex
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