Air Transport Professionals
Fly and navigate aircraft, control air traffic to ensure the safe and efficient operation of aircraft in flight and on the ground, and instruct students in flying aircraft.
A cross-country flight and a changing sky
You are a pilot of a small regional passenger aircraft, preparing for the first flight of a long day. It is 6:20am at a small country airport. Your first officer, your passengers and your aircraft are almost ready. The sky looks calm, but the weather for later in the day is uncertain.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
The forecast for the city is a bit messy, but I think it will clear by the time you get there. We've already had two delays this week and the managers are watching. Can you go on time?
Go on time, because the airline is under pressure, there have been two delays already and the forecast may clear
You depart, but the forecast does not improve. You spend the flight with fewer choices than you wanted. Schedules are real, and they are not a reason to reduce safety margins.
Check the latest forecast and your limits, then decide with Sam whether to go, wait or divert
You decide to leave with enough fuel to reach a second airport if needed, and Sam arranges it. You give the passengers a clear explanation. Planning for options is what pilots do before they go.
Cancel the flight now, to be completely safe, and tell the passengers it is the weather
Cancelling is safe, but you did not look at the other choices, and thirty passengers are stranded for hours. A safe decision still needs to consider what else is possible.
I think the fuel figure on the paperwork looks a bit low for today. I might be wrong, and I don't want to slow us down, but I'd feel better if we checked. What do you think?
Thank him, check the figures together and correct them if he is right
He is right: a number was entered wrongly. You fix it in five minutes and thank him in front of the crew. A cockpit where anyone can speak up is a safer place.
Tell him you've flown this route many times and the figure is fine
Leilani stops speaking up, and the error stays on the paperwork. Experience is useful, and checking is cheap.
Say you will look at it after the safety briefing, to keep to the schedule
You do look later, and the figure is wrong. You have lost a little time and some of Leilani's confidence in speaking up next time.
We've been delayed for an hour. My daughter is getting married tomorrow and I have to be there. Can't you just go? Other planes are flying today. Please, I'm begging you.
Tell her the plane will leave when it is safe, and explain exactly what you are waiting for and why
She is upset, but she understands. You did not offer any help to get her to the wedding, and she leaves the airport feeling alone.
Tell her you will do everything you can to get her there and suggest she not worry about the wedding
You can't promise that, and when a longer delay follows she feels let down. Kind words that cannot be kept are worse than honest ones.
Listen, explain why you are waiting, and ask the ground team for another way to get her there
The ground team finds her a seat on a later flight with a connection, and she is grateful, if still stressed. Safety and kindness are not opposites.
How it went
The flight left safely, a wrong figure was corrected and a passenger was helped. Pilots and controllers make careful decisions under time pressure, and their work depends on checking, speaking up and saying no. Could you make an unpopular call for the right reason?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The flight that stayed on the ground
A fictional case set in a regional airline and a flight school operating from a small country airport.
The situation
Captain Ines Duarte was due to fly a small passenger plane from a country town to the city. Thirty passengers had been waiting for hours already, and many had connecting flights. The weather forecast at the destination was changing, and the crew had been up since 4am. The airline's operations desk asked if she could leave now, saying it was probably fine. Ines was uneasy about the forecast.
What they did
Ines looked at the latest weather report and the fuel and rest limits. She took time to think about how the weather might look when they arrived, not when they left. She decided to wait for the next forecast update, thirty minutes away, and explained to the passengers plainly why. She also asked the operations desk to look at an alternative landing place, which the airline arranged.
How it turned out
The update was worse than the first forecast, and the flight went later, to a different airport, with a bus for the passengers. People were frustrated and a few were rude. Ines did not enjoy being the cause of the delay, and knew the decision was right.
What would you do?
- How would you cope with passengers who are angry at a decision you made for safety?
- What would it be like to make a call that nobody sees the benefit of?
- Why might a good pilot sometimes choose not to fly?