In The Pattern: If you See Something, Say So

Captain Speaking

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 07:02 PM ET

Verified

Piper Cub

Key Takeaways:

The author, a former military pilot, learned the importance of direct and personalized communication in high-stress aviation emergencies.
As a civilian instructor, his attempt to clarify a potentially unsafe situation by directly addressing another pilot on the radio was met with severe criticism from ATC and colleagues.
Due to this backlash, the author remained silent during a subsequent incident where another pilot caused dangerous confusion in the traffic pattern, leading to near-misses.
The author concludes that prioritizing safety by speaking up in critical situations, even if it means challenging communication norms, is essential.

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Many years ago, when I was still a bold pilot, I was in the U.S. Air Force, based at Beale AFB and flying as a copilot aboard the KC-135Q, the venerable airborne tanker system based on the Boeing 707. The “Q” version of the KC-135 was specially modified to refuel the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird with JP-7 fuel. Beale was the SR-71’s base, although they—and us—also staged out of other locations.

The SR-71 was large, black, loud and fast. We KC-135Q “tanker” pilots kinda (secretly) worshipped the ground the guys flying it walked on—the “sled” drivers. The guys in the space suits and helmets. (The SR-71 was called the “sled” by all the SR-71 drivers and tanker drivers. Hardly anyone ever called it the “Blackbird” or the “SR-71.” If someone did, you knew right away that person was not a pilot based at Beale AFB.)