I Learned About Flying From That: Learning on the Job

T.S. Dunn

Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 12:08 AM ET

Verified

To see more of Barry Ross' aviation art, go to
barryrossart.com.

Key Takeaways:

During his first airline command, the pilot navigated a severe winter storm with significant icing and inoperative flaps, making crucial decisions like rejecting a dangerous circle-to-land approach.
Facing severe ice accumulation, the pilot intentionally exceeded the company's maximum approach speed limitation by 15 knots, prioritizing safety over strict adherence to policy, a decision later understood by authorities.
Despite this, strict adherence to crossing the threshold at VREF (stall speed reference) with idle throttles led to an uncommanded stall at 35 feet due to "ice bridging" on the wings, resulting in a hard landing and tail strike.
The incident highlighted the complex balance between following established rules and exercising cautious judgment to deviate from them when safety demands, especially in unforeseen extreme conditions.

See a mistake? Contact us.

It was cold. That isn’t always a bad thing. Engines have more power; wings produce greater lift (more or less). But there was also moisture. Quite a bit of it in fact. And that is just no fun when it’s below freezing. Throw in the fact that I was at the end of a long five-day trip, rapidly approaching 15 hours since the last time my head had hit a pillow, and that my ATP certificate was still foldable (as in temporary paper), and you have a nice start to a National Transportation Safety Board report.

I had just north of 1,600 hours total time, and I was bravely in command of the mighty Beech 1900. My first airline command. The four stripes on my epaulets were starched new. Everyone learns somewhere. It’s probably better that the 18 passengers behind us had no idea that I was doing so on their dime, especially in the middle of a winter storm that extended across the Rocky Mountain range.