Vintage Instructor THE
BY DOUG STEWART
Whose Rules
I
recently received the following e-mail, forwarded to me from a friend who is a retired ATC (air traffic control) TRACON (terminal radar approach control) supervisor. The e-mail was sent to him in response to a posting he sent to an online aviators digest, in which he brought some clarity to a query about controller/pilot communications. Here’s what the e-mail said: “I read your posting and noticed that you are a controller of several years. A question came to mind when I thought of your position. I am a fair weather flyer. If it’s not nice out, I have no desire to go anywhere. But once in awhile I find myself coming back into the L.A. basin with flight following and see the area is socked in with a ceiling. Central sometimes hands me off to a local tower, and I descend maybe 2,000 feet through the clouds. I’m comfortable with that, have some training and the instruments to handle it. Someone once told me that if the FAA found out, I could lose my VFR license, but who would tell them? How would they find out? Just wondered, thanks.” My friend was dumbfounded that someone would be brazen enough to make such an admission, but even more astonished that the respondent apparently had no clue as to the danger he presented not only to himself, but also to everyone else with whom he shared the skies. My friend sought my input as to how to respond. This is what I suggested: “Yes, if
34 SEPTEMBER 2009
the FAA found out, you might suffer a suspension or even revocation of your certificate. Even if they don’t find out, you put yourself at the top of the list of folks scheduled to receive the Darwin Award. The sad thing to think is that although your loss might not be mourned, the loss of any innocent folks you might take with you would be! When and if you ever realize that the vast majority of the FARs are ‘written in blood,’ you might be convinced to correct your hazardous operations!” I know that for many of us, myself included, the hazardous attitude of anti-authority is a mentality that must be dealt with. The FAA suggests that the “antidote” for this attitude is the admonition that “the rules are written for everyone.” But I must admit that at least for me, that suggestion is a little weak. If I were tempted to descend through what I perceived as a shallow layer of clouds while in Class E airspace, chanting “the rules are written for everyone” probably wouldn’t stop me from reducing power and pitching the airplane down. After all, I wouldn’t expect to find a traffic cop waiting at the other side of the clouds to write me up with a ticket. My experience even tells me that it is very difficult for the FAA to prosecute known cases of IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) flight in controlled airspace without a clearance. I recall once when I was at a nontowered airport getting ready to de-
part into a 300-foot ceiling. I had already received my clearance over the telephone, with a void time, and was just finishing my beforetakeoff checks when a twin Cessna taxied in front of me onto the runway and departed into the clouds with nary a radio call. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. I managed to get the offending airplane’s N number as he taxied past me, so the next day I contacted my safety program manager at the local flight standards district office to file a report. As part of the ensuing investigation it was found that the pilot of the twin Cessna had a history of violations, and even had a certificate suspension in his records. However, in this instance I was informed that the FAA would be hard-pressed to conduct an enforcement action. In essence it would be my word against the Cessna pilot’s word. So if I know how difficult it is for the FAA to enforce its own rules, what is there to keep me from ignoring them? If one is truly of a strong anti-authority mentality, the caution that the rules are written for everyone probably won’t stop one from violating those rules. There needs to be an antidote that is a little stronger if it is to work, and here is the one that I use for myself: “Those rules are written for just one person, Stewart…you! They were written in blood, and they are there to keep you alive!” Suddenly the importance of the regulations takes on a whole new
dimension. When I gain the understanding that many of the rules came about as a result of fatal accidents, I now start to pay greater attention to them. As an example, the rules relative to visibilities and distance from clouds came about as a result of airplanes crashing into each other, and lives being lost. These regulations are predicated upon providing pilots with the ability to “see and avoid” other aircraft as well as ATC’s ability to provide separation for those aircraft under their control. Obviously the type of airspace we are flying in affects that ability. Further, understanding the implicit meaning of a “clearance” has bearing on this. When one receives a clearance from ATC it means that air traffic control now bears the burden of providing separation from other aircraft (notwithstanding that it is the pilot in command’s responsibility to use “see and avoid” techniques whenever in visual conditions). As an example we all know that in order to enter Class Bravo airspace we must have not only a radio capable of two-way communication and a Mode C transponder, but also a clearance. It is this clearance, along with its unspoken provision of separation, that allows us to fly just “clear of clouds” and not worry about getting T-boned by a 747 as it comes out of the cloud we are flying just clear of. Sometimes it is ignorance of the regulations, and more importantly the reason for the rule, rather than blatant disregard, that could put us in jeopardy. I am surprised at the number of pilots coming to me for flight reviews who are unaware of the requirement to have a Mode C transponder turned on not only while flying within the limits of Class C airspace, but also above it. If we understand that ATC must provide separation to all FAR Part 121 (airline) flights, which by regulation fly under instrument flight rules (IFR) even when it is severe clear, we might then gain greater understanding of this transponder rule.
If a controller sees a primary target (one without a transponder code, or altitude readout) within the lateral limits of the “shelf area” (the outer ring) of Class C airspace, the assumption is that the airplane is flying below the base of that shelf
I know that for many of us, myself included, the hazardous attitude of anti-authority is a mentality that must be dealt with. area. Thus they might descend an IFR flight to an altitude that would compromise vertical separation limits, if the primary target is flying above the Class C airspace, and worse yet might cause an accident. How many pilots are aware that FAR 91.215 (c) actually states that if a Mode C transponder is installed in the aircraft it should be turned on? Probably not many of us, but consider the following. I know I used to ignore turning on my transponder, especially when I was flying low, slow, and locally in my Super Cruiser. But as I spend more and more time with clients in technically ad-
vanced aircraft, with large multifunction displays that depict traffic on those displays, I find that many of those pilots, rather than using the most important piece of equipment in their airplane— their own two eyes looking out the window—instead spend most of their visual time looking at those screens inside the airplane. Regardless of the type of traffic avoidance equipment installed (ADS-B being the exception), they all work on transponder replies. Thus if you want to protect yourself from this type of pilot who relies on electrical equipment for collision avoidance, rather than his or her own two eyes, it would behoove you to turn on that transponder. I could go on and on with examples of how and why the regulations are written, for the most part, to protect each and every one of us from ourselves. Suffice it to say that they are there for a very good reason. I know that many of us have some form of “anti-authority” tendency residing within our beings. After all, the vast majority of pilots are Type A personalities, and we like to be in command. It comes with the turf. That being said, it truly behooves us to abide by the regulations. Keep that in mind as you are beckoned aloft by . . . blue skies and tail winds. Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year, a Master certificated flight instructor, and a designated pilot examiner. He operates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight.com) based at the Columbia County Airport (1B1).
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35