Getting Upset in a Jet

Pia Bergqvist

Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 06:38 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Upset recovery training in a Level D simulator provides a safe environment to learn how to correct dangerous flight attitudes, offering critical insights into aircraft behavior beyond normal operational limits.
The training vividly demonstrated the severe dangers of excessive rudder inputs in upset scenarios, highlighting that such actions can lead to catastrophic structural failure, as seen in the American 587 accident.
The author concluded that upset recovery training is highly valuable and transferable for all pilots, from those flying aerobatic aircraft to large commercial jets, dispelling the initial perception that it's only for specialized flying.

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This week, I had an opportunity to learn more about upset recovery training at APS Emergency Maneuvers Training at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in the southeastern edge of Mesa, Arizona. With temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, it was nice to step into the air-conditioned CAE full motion Level D ERJ 145 simulator at the Arizona State University campus across the street from the APS facility.

This type of training is valuable since it shows what can happen when an airplane goes beyond its design limits, while being in the safe environment of the sim. Not only is the stress of the unusual attitudes removed, the simulator can also be stopped at any time so that the instructor can explain in detail what is going on and how to properly correct the upset state with the least stress to the airplane.