This Is Not A Drill

It was a lousy day to begin with: Gusty winds, steady rain and low ceilings covered the entire area. I departed home plate at 0700 in our Navajo Chieftain for Louisville-Bowman Field. After flying the GPS WAAS Runway 24 approach down to minimums, I taxied to the ramp where my four passengers were waiting. The mission was carrying the governors economic development group to different potential sites across the state. Within minutes, we were off again, headed to our first destination, Hopkinsville, Ky. After another approach to near-minimums and taxiing to the ramp, I was thinking this was going to be a long day, given the amount of airports on their agenda and the weather.

Key Takeaways:

• During a challenging flight in bad weather, the pilot experienced an in-flight instrument failure (left vacuum pump) that necessitated a diversion.
• The pilot credits recent recurrent simulator training for enabling him to effectively manage the actual emergency, reinforcing the importance of preparation for such failures.
• A subsequent simulator session dramatically demonstrated how quickly an instrument failure can lead to a rapid loss of control, even for experienced aviators.
• The article strongly emphasizes the critical need for continuous, serious recurrent training to maintain proficiency in handling instrument failures and other rarely-seen, safety-critical situations.

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