Think Outside the Box

They almost made it. The aircraft was on a very short final when the nose started down. The flight crew pushed the thrust levers for both wing engines up to stop the sink but the left engine spooled up faster than the right engine and the aircraft started a turn to the right, from which there was no time to recover.

Editorial Staff

Monday, April 11, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must be prepared for situations not covered by Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), requiring them to "think outside the box" and apply fundamental aviation knowledge and skills.
Effective strategies in non-SOP emergencies include utilizing secondary flight controls (e.g., trim, flaps, rudder) and, crucially, thrust vectoring for pitch and yaw control, as demonstrated by several successful airline incidents.
The core principle in any emergency is to "fly the airplane first," prioritizing control through pitch and power settings, even when primary instruments like airspeed indicators are lost.
Survival in unforeseen situations depends on a deep understanding of aircraft systems and performance, the ability to adapt, and the willingness to ask for help or declare an emergency.

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First, as a graduate of the United States Air Force Pilot Training Program, as a former U.S. Air Force pilot, as a retired Captain for a major United States air carrier, and as an instructor at a leading corporate pilot training center, I am a strong believer in Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

However, I recognize that every now and then, some occasion will arise where there is no established procedure that may be used to solve the problem. When that happens, a pilot is sometimes left to his or her own to figure out what to do.