Know Where To Go

My father was a mechanic for a major airline. One day he was a passenger on one of the company’s Boeing 767s on a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles. As the heavy Boeing lifted off into a low overcast at O’Hare, the right engine failed. My father later told me he could hear the change in noise and feel the deck angle, but said the crew artfully handled the failure and engine shutdown, and most passengers probably didn’t notice anything unusual had happened.

Key Takeaways:

• Pilots should establish a "takeoff alternate" airport as a Standard Operating Procedure before every IFR departure to pre-plan for potential emergencies immediately after takeoff.
• This pre-planning enables reasoned decision-making under low-stress conditions, preventing impulsive or risky choices during high-workload, emergency situations.
• A suitable takeoff alternate should prioritize safety, potentially offering better weather, facilities, or support (like longer runways or instrument approaches) than the departure airport or original destination.

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