When Rabbit Wont Run

The inoperative table doesn’t cover every possible system failure. Plus, you also need to consider facility outages and equipment failures at your alternate.

stevel

Friday, October 19, 2012 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Instrument flight inherently trusts complex systems, but the aviation infrastructure is designed with the expectation that ground-based and airborne equipment will fail.
Failures of navigation aids or supporting systems can significantly alter approach availability, increase required minimums (ceiling/visibility), or render an approach unusable.
Pilots must actively plan for potential equipment outages during preflight by thoroughly reviewing approach plates, alternate minimums, and inoperative tables.
Regular practice, including simulating component failures and flying approaches to higher minimums, is crucial for maintaining proficiency and preparing for real-world contingencies.

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Trust is an intrinsic part of instrument flight. We trust ATC to keep other aircraft from running into us, we trust other pilots to know what they’re doing and we trust the instruments themselves. In the bargain, we also expect our onboard equipment—trust is too strong a word—to work and have a similar, positive outlook on electronic navigation resources: GPS, ILS, VOR, etc. But these systems, whether air- or ground-borne, can and do fail. In fact, expecting failure of various components comprising the aviation infrastructure is baked into many of its procedures.