Page 14 - May 2015 Volume 9, Number 5

PILOT KA SPEAK
Using Airline Safety
Techniques in GA Operations
by Matthew McDaniel
Ahearty eye-roll is often the first reaction when it is suggested that general aviation pilots should apply “airline techniques” to their operations to improve safety. First of all, GA is so multi-faceted that lumping so many types of aviation into such a catch-all term is ridiculous. How can one term encompass both FAR Part 135 charter operations in a Gulfstream and a student pilot soloing a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) for the first time? Yet, it does! Secondly, many elements of typical airline techniques simply don’t translate into some segments of general aviation. To clairify, for this discussion of airline style safety techniques within GA, we are targeting primarily turbine aircraft operations within standard, non-training, missions. Most King Air operations certainly apply.
The majority of turbine GA pilots adhere to at least some level of SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). Accordingly, within the GA accident rate, turbine operations exhibit a far lower accident and fatality rate than general aviation, as a whole. Yet, even when extracted from other segments of GA, turbine operations still continue to maintain an accident rate far higher than that of airline opeartions. While closing that gap has remained elusive on a large scale, each and every one of us can contibute to greater safety on a small scale (within our personal and business flying and/ or within the operations of our non-airline company). Here are some ideas to consider applying to your King Air operations.
Pre-Flight Planning
Airlines have the luxury (and sometimes requirement) of having dispatchers, load planners, and weather specialists on their payrolls. This takes a fair amount of flight planning burden off the pilot’s backs at the very beginning. While the buck always stops with the pilots, having other professionals checking weather, analyzing routes, and creating a recommended flight plan for you can be a real workload reducer. This does not have to exist only in the form of actual employees though. Today’s
12 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
computer technology, programs, apps, and various flight planning service companies can put all manner of pre- flight planning information right at the pilot’s fingertips. Amazing websites (like FlightPlan.com©) have gained wide acceptance by turbine pilots. Equally amazing are flight planning apps/software (like ForeFlight©) that can be used on various tablet devices, giving pilots the ability to take the information with them in the cockpit and access it whenever the need arises. Apps and software exist to assit in load planning (weight and balance), fuel planning, and performance calculations. Plus, a truly dizzying array of weather websites and apps are available, from the popular Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) website (www.aviationweather.gov/adds), to ultra-specialized websites where you can analyze radar plots or various aviation weather charts/services. Using the tried and true FAA/Flight Service-approved information via Lockheed-Martin Flight Services, has become increasingly advanced since Lockheed-Martin’s tenure began (www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/ afss). Finally, there are also a variety of flight planning/ services companies that can provide bundled flight planning services nearly on par with that of a scheduled airline’s dispatch team. Such companies do so as a contracted service, available via annual membership fees or on an as needed, fee for service, basis. So, while you or your company may not have the luxury of employing full time helpers, there are many ways to improve both the quality and the ease of your pre-flight planning tasks.
Pre-Flight Inspection
Airline pilots are required to perform pre-flight walk- around inspections before every flight. Sometimes that task falls exclusively upon the first officer, while some airlines have written SOPs designated the Pilot Flying (PF) or Pilot Monitoring (PM) be assigned the task. However it is incorported into your SOP, and however elementray it may seem, it is always the first brick in the safety foundation of any flight. Yet, in GA, it is often overlooked; especially when the same pilot/crew is flying multi-leg days in the same aircraft with short turn around times, or added time pressures from early- arriving passengers or approaching weather systems. As basic as it may seem, a pre-flight inspection should happen prior to every flight, without exception.
Crew Briefings
Obviously, most airline operations are conducted with a multi-person cockpit crew (two pilots being the most common in today’s airline fleet). While this might not apply to all King Air operations, many King Air operators utilize a two-pilot crew, as well. This may be the case for a variety of reasons, such as insurance or company-policy requirements, Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR), Operating Specifications (OpSpecs), or Management Specifications (MSpecs) requirements for the type of operation being conducted. There’s obviously a safety enhancement
MAY 2015