When Rabbit Won’t 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.

D Higdon

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

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Instrument flight relies on trust in equipment and systems, but failures of both airborne and ground-based components are a common and anticipated reality, integrated into aviation procedures and regulations.
Pilots must proactively plan for potential equipment outages by thoroughly reviewing available approaches, understanding alternate minimums, and knowing how specific failures impact approach availability and required minimums.
Practicing contingency procedures, such as flying approaches to higher minimums or simulating equipment malfunctions, is crucial for building the confidence and competency needed to safely manage real-world equipment failures.

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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.