By Robert N. Rossier, EAA 472091
This piece originally ran in Robert’s Stick and Rudder column in the November 2020 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
There is a lot to do before any flight — get a weather briefing, plan the route, file a flight plan, check weight and balance, review takeoff and landing performance, preflight the aircraft, and maybe get a clearance. It seems like a lot to do, and it seems pretty thorough, but there is really one more thing we should do before we taxi onto the runway and push the throttle forward. Referred to as a captain’s briefing, or a pretakeoff briefing, the idea is to make certain we have preloaded our brain with the contingencies and responses that might be needed early in the flight. While we might think of such a briefing as something we do only with a two-person flight crew — such as a professional flight crew or instructor and student — it really should be part of our standard single-pilot flight routine.
The item I like to start with for an IFR departure is making sure I’m set up for an instrument approach back into the departure airport. That means having the radios set up — to the extent possible — for the approach, having the approach plate handy, and briefing the approach. After all, the need to fly the instrument approach could come up pretty quickly if something goes really wrong. There might not be a lot of time to prepare for it once the problem hits the fan, as it were.
The core of the briefing should focus primarily on the decision points and actions to be taken at those points should something go awry. That includes setting a point by which we should abort takeoff. We should have a good idea based on our performance data, weight, and conditions as to how much runway it should take to become airborne. If we’re not airborne by that point, we want to abort. Another take on this decision is the old rule of thumb of achieving 70 percent flying speed at the halfway point on the runway. This might be a good rule for takeoff, and it also applies when performing touch-and-go landings.
If we’re flying an aircraft with retractable gear, we want to be deliberate about when we retract the landing gear. Keep in mind how long it takes to extend it again and how quickly we might lose altitude with an engine failure. There may be little point to pulling up the gear until we know we won’t need it or will have enough time to extend it if needed in the event of an emergency.
For a departure in VFR conditions, we should have in mind which runway to use if something goes wrong shortly after takeoff. We might decide we should circle back to the departure runway, but we might want to consider a cross runway (if one exists and conditions allow) or even a course reversal and landing on the opposite runway (again, if conditions allow). Numerous considerations might factor into this plan, including wind speed and direction, visibility, density altitude, terrain, and traffic.
For an instructor and student pair, or an examiner/check pilot and pilot pair, we should be clear about who will fly in a real emergency — and the altitude below which any emergency should not be considered “part of the lesson.” It’s this type of confusion that can wreak havoc on an instructional or check flight, so we should iron out the details well in advance.
That said, we need to have a plan for an engine failure. In a single-engine airplane, we might decide that below a specified altitude, we go straight ahead or make only small heading changes to adjust the touchdown location. If we’re above that specified altitude, we have more options and may be able to turn toward a preselected landing area. In a light twin, we want to recall and review our engine-out procedure and have a plan for a return landing to a specific runway based on runway lengths, winds, temperatures, terrain obstacles, and any other pertinent factors.
A slight twist on this scenario is what we should do if we have engine roughness or a partial power failure. Step one would be to follow the emergency or abnormal procedures checklist —things like pushing the throttle forward, turning on the fuel boost pump, switching fuel tanks, applying carb heat, using alternate air, adjusting the mixture, checking mags, and so on. It’s surprising how many times we hear that a pilot experienced roughness or a partial power loss yet did nothing to remedy the situation. Problems such as low fuel or low fuel pressure can sneak up on us just as readily as carburetor ice and give us a pretty good kick in the tail without warning.
Beyond these items are the myriad contingencies for which we should have a plan. We should have a plan for dealing with a loss of communications, at least if we are on an instrument flight plan. The regulations tell us what we should do. It’s good to review that procedure to make sure we have it down. For a VFR flight in a nontowered environment, the loss of communications might not be a serious problem, but remember that sometimes even minor problems can initiate a domino effect that puts us in a much tighter corner.
Electrical problems are another scenario we might want to include in our briefing. To a significant extent, our actions will differ depending on whether we are VFR or IFR and day or night. But it’s a good idea to at least mentally rehearse what actions we should take if we lose all or partial electrical power. That includes everything from dealing with an electrical fire to an effective procedure for load shedding. Recognize that a loss of electrical power could have a multitude of effects, from loss of communication and navigation, to a loss of instrument and landing lights, to the inability to extend the flaps and landing gear.
Yet another scenario we might consider is a loss of in-flight visibility. This could occur because we inadvertently entered the clouds, because our constant-speed propeller developed an oil leak, the windows suddenly fogged up, or any other number of reasons. Clearly, we need to be on the instruments immediately if we can’t see, but how we resolve the situation will vary significantly depending on the particular situation.
The content of our captain’s briefing might vary depending on the nature of our flight —where we’re going, with whom, and in what conditions. A shorter list of items might be suitable for pattern work on a sunny VFR day than would be desired for a cross-country flight, but we should make such a briefing part of our regular preflight routine. It all comes down to always having a Plan B for whatever situation may arise. We never know when something will go awry, but having mentally rehearsed the scenario before flight puts us in a much better position to deal with it calmly and successfully.
Robert N. Rossier, EAA 472091, has been flying for more than 30 years and has worked as a flight instructor, commercial pilot, chief pilot, and FAA flight check airman.