Avoiding the Landing Accident

1. Avoiding the Landing Accident • Dick Hitt • Safety Program Manager, Operations • (803) 765-5931, ext. 112 • Columbia Flight Standards District Office • e-mail: richard.l.hitt@faa.gov • Web site: www.faa.gov/fsdo/cae DICK HITT

2. 9/28/00 to 9/28/01 - 70 loss of control accidents According to the AOPA: 48% of Wx related accidents, between 1982 and 1993 involved wind! 1/2 of these were caused by pilots losing control in a cross wind landing Between Sept, 2000 & Sept 2001, 50% of all accidents in this district occurred DURING THE LANDING! The antidote to this is knowledge and practice! Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

3. Avoiding the Landing Accident Good pilots have crashes. No one intends to crash. Most crashes come from an unexpected malfunction of the pilot, not the aircraft. Lets look at, and talk about, landings. Maybe there is something that we can do to keep this from happening to us! DICK HITT

4. Avoiding the Landing Accident • We should have some well thought out SOP’s that fit our airplane • (Standard Operating Procedures) things that we do All of the time!Every time! • For Example: DOWNWIND • Always enter the traffic pattern at the same altitude and airspeed (1.5 Vso or the POH recommended a/s) • Always make the traffic pattern the same size! • Always position the airplane so that it is the same distance from the runway on downwind. • 1/2 the length of the strut or the wing DICK HITT

5. Avoiding the Landing Accident • While still on downwind, pick a go-around point! • One that will ALLOW YOU TO MAKE A GO-AROUND without conflicting with any trees, terrain, poles,etc. • One that you can see easily from the flare • If you use flaps, use them the same each time. • Turn to the base leg when your spot of intended landing is 45 degrees behind you. • Make a coordinated turn to base DICK HITT

6. Avoiding the Landing Accident • BASE LEG: • Air speed 1.4 Vso or POH recommendation • Adjust speed and altitude (add gust factor if necessary) • KEEP THE PATTERN SMALL !!! • You should be able to land fromANYpoint in a traffic pattern, in the event of an engine failure !!! • MAKE A COORDINATED TURN TO FINAL • Plan turn to final so as to roll out aligned with the centerline (Do not try to correct it with rudder!) DICK HITT

7. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

8. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

9. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

10. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

11. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

12. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

13. FINAL: (1.3 Vso or POH recommendation) Make final flap setting, if required. Make final airspeed adjustment (if necessary) Make final cross wind adjustment Crabbing is ok now, but you must start slipping before you round out! Re-evaluate airspeed, altitude, and centerline alignment REMEMBER! THE APPROACH IS ALWAYS MADE TO THE GO-AROUND, NOT THE LANDING!!! Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

14. Avoiding the Landing Accident • OVER THE FENCE: • If you have the proper airspeed, altitude, centerline alignment, decent rate, and ground track -- -- then you may continue, If not, GO AROUND !!! • Naval aviators chant - - “line-up, speed, ball, flaps, hook, gear…” • I would liked each of us to have our own ‘chant’. • “Centerline, Drift, Airspeed, Altitude…” DICK HITT

15. Avoiding the Landing Accident • ROUND OUT: • Stop the decent - enter the flare • Have the longitudinal axis of the airplane aligned with the centerline • Remember, you are flying to, and planning on, a go-around. • The landing only comes if everything is just right! DICK HITT

16. Avoiding the Landing Accident • IN THE FLAIR: • Are we over the center line? • Is our airspeed proper? • Where is that Go-Around point that we picked out on downwind ? • Are we drifting? If we are, do something about it! • FIX IT OR GO AROUND ! • If everything looks good, don’t quit flying! DICK HITT

17. Avoiding the Landing Accident • In a properly executed, cross wind landing, the longitudinal axis of the airplane is aligned with the centerline of the runway and there is no drift and no crab. • When do you release that tiny bit of back pressure to allow the wheels to touch? Or do you want to do a full stall landing? (Stall speed is much slower, due to ground effect.) • (How close are you to your go around point?) DICK HITT

18. Avoiding the Landing Accident • After touchdown, the ailerons still control drift and the rudder prevents weathervaneining. • When you land correctly, in a cross wind, the controls are already positioned to taxi in the cross wind, however you have to increase the control deflection due to reduced air speed. DICK HITT

19. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

20. Avoiding the Landing Accident DICK HITT

21. Avoiding the Landing Accident • Lets review what we’ve talked about so far: • SOP’s • 1.5, 1.4, & 1.3 Vso, or POH recommendation • Stay Coordinated • On downwind, pick a go-around point that will work! • Always enter the Pattern at the same altitude and airspeed • Always fly the same size traffic pattern (One that will allow you to land in the event of an emergency) • Always plan on the miss, not the landing • Chant • Slip to a landing in a cross wind • Don’t sit in an airplane and wait for it to land. Keep Flying! • Stay coordinated DICK HITT

22. What if it bounces ? Why would it ? Airspeed was too fast and we tried to land anyway! The nose wheel hit and skipped and now we are back in the air again. (porpoising) Our decent rate was too high. We flared too late and flew it into the runway We flared too high and let it drop in. Mismanaging our airspeed and decent rate will make us bounce! What if it Bounces ? DICK HITT

23. What if it Bounces ? DICK HITT

24. What if it Bounces ? DICK HITT

25. What if it Bounces ? • How do we fix a bounce ? • Immediately, bite the bullet and go around. • Immediately add FULL power • Establish level flight, using SMALL elevator adjustments • You may be doing slow flight at an altitude of 3 feet • Always maintaining the runway centerline ! • Once you have regained control and airspeed, establish a climb (Never, Never, Never, try to climb without adequate airspeed.) (Accelerate first, then climb) • A short runway demands an Immediate go around at the first sign of a botched landing YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO FIDDLE WITH IT !!! DICK HITT

26. What if it Bounces ? • IF YOU HAVE ADEQUATE RUNWAY LENGTH REMAINING: (Where is that Go-around point that I picked when I was on downwind?) • Apply power at the top of the bounce and flare again. (IF you have adequate air speed - you have to decide!) • Make SMALL elevator adjustments. • This usually does not result in a “pretty” landing. DICK HITT

27. What if it Bounces ? • When an airplane bounces, it is easy to loose directional control due to lack of airspeed, especially if you have dropped it in! • You may not have enough airspeed to control it in the air, and it may have bounced off into some crazy direction! • IMMEDIATELY, GO TO MAX POWER AND RECOVER IN GROUND EFFECT. • THIS REQUIRES A LOT OF RUDDER AND SMALL ELEVATOR MOVEMENTS. • Get a flight Instructor and Practice: • Recoveries from bounces • Go-arounds from the flare • Slips to a landing DICK HITT

28. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN DICK HITT

29. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN WHY DO PEOPLE FLY SUCH BIG PATTERNS ???? • POOR INSTRUCTION • POOR PILOT ABILITY • LACK OF UNDERSTANDING • LACK OF COURTESY • THEY’RE IDIOTS! DICK HITT

30. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN SOME TRAFFIC PATTERN TIPS: • FLY DOWNWIND 1/4 MILE FROM THE RUNWAY • A 1/4 MILE FINAL IS PERFECTLY OKAY !!!! • A POWER OFF APPROACH IS PROPER Don’t drag it in with power • REDUCE POWER OPPISITE YOUR SPOT Then try to land on it • Turn base when you are 45º to your spot • IN A PROPERLY SIZED (SMALL)PATTERN - PEOPLE KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR YOU !! • AND, you can land from any point in the pattern!!! DICK HITT

31. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN Ten top reasons to fly BIG paterns 10. Great way to build up the expense of having to fly. 9. Tired of looking at all of the old “traffic pattern scenery” and looking for something new. 8. Helps build up that ‘hard to get’ cross country time. 7. Gets you ready for flying the Big Iron. 6. Spread the cheer…airplane noise for everybody! 5. Helps you hide from people looking for you (like pilots waiting to take off) 4. Gives you new answers to the question, “Where are we?” 3. Solves the problem of landing with too much gas! 2. If the engine quits, you can practice those off airport landings. DICK HITT

32. THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND THE TOP REASON TO FLY A BIG PATTERN 1. Your instructor always did it to build time!!! DICK HITT

33. What NOT to Do,The old ‘Crab & Kick Method’ Now that we have talked about the correct way to land, lets talk about a popular, but “wrong” way to land. DICK HITT

34. What NOT to Do,The old ‘Crab & Kick Method’ • Some pilots holds a crab all the way down the final and through the flare • Then, at some time, best determined by guesswork, our inept pilot kicks in a bunch of rudder, hoping that when the airplane lands it will be going straight! • Lots of instructors do it! • Lots of pilots do it! • BUT DON’T YOU DO IT! DICK HITT

35. What NOT to Do,The old ‘Crab & Kick Method’ • If you guess wrong, and kick late, you land in a crab • If you guess wrong and kick early, you drift (Off the runway) • If you do get on the runway okay, your controls are not positioned properly for the cross wind DICK HITT

36. Remember this guy?He did the ‘Crab & Kick’! DICK HITT

37. What NOT to Do,The old ‘Crab & Kick Method’ • They do it because they have never mastered the art of slipping to a landing! • If you are a “Crab and Kick” pilot, take a flight instructor with you the next time you fly!! LEARN TO LAND IN A SLIP DICK HITT

38. How to “Tune up” our landings • Even though we have been talking a lot about the flare -- a good landing is started in the approach and traffic pattern • Get a CFI or go by yourself and practice rectangular patterns, so you traffic patterns will be better • Go to a safe altitude and practice slow flight • Do not allow the altitude to vary. • This will help your flare DICK HITT

39. How to “Tune up” our landings • Practice some approach-to-Landing stalls • Don’t allow yourself to gain or loose any altitude prior to the stall • Then do it a foot above the runway • Overshooting or Undershooting your turn to final • Practice Turns about a point • Practice S-turns across a road • These will help you compensate for a cross wind DICK HITT

40. SUMMARY • Develop, and use SOP’s • Target airspeeds • 1.5, 1.4, 1.3 Vso, or POH speeds (with gust factor) • Work at staying on the speed! • Gust factor, if needed • Before entering the traffic pattern -- know what you will do on each leg of the traffic pattern! • Pick a “Go-Around” point • Be aware that a go-around point not only considers the runway remaining, but also any obstruction such as power lines and trees. DICK HITT

41. SUMMARY • Continually evaluate your situation • Airspeed, altitude, traffic pattern size decent rate, ball in the center, other traffic, wind correction, radio, etc. • Chant • Control drift and airspeed • Be watchful for high sink rates • Know that a stable approach leads to a good landing • Fly to the go-around, not to the landing • Never stop flying the airplane DICK HITT

42. Remember: Throttle = altitude Elevator = airspeed Changing one requires changing the other Consequently, changing one parameter requires TWO control inputs The landing is not completed until you are in the hangar! SUMMARY DICK HITT

43. SUMMARY LANDINGS SEND IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGES BECAUSE THE NECESSARY SKILLS AND JUDGEMENTS ARE SO CRITICLE DURING LANDINGS -- ANY LAPSE THEREOF WILL REVEAL ITSELF IN A BOTCHED LANDING. DICK HITT

44. AS THEY SAY IN THE MOVIES - Happy Landings ! DICK HITT

45. DICK HITT