Safety: Post-Crash Survival - What Comes Next?

Welcome to the Safety Section of the Flying Clubs Newsletter, Club Connector! 

Every month we provide resources for flying club safety officers to keep their clubs informed and safe. We include links to PowerPoint presentations (and smaller PDFs) that we use at our own meetings, so there is always a topic ready for your club’s next safety meeting. Along with the presentations, we also provide links to relevant articles, videos, and other media that you may also find useful. You can find this month’s safety article and the full archive, here: https://youcanfly.aopa.org/flying-clubs/flying-club-newsletter/safety  

So, let’s get on with this month’s safety topic!  

February Safety Topic of the Month: General Aviation Survival

Background:  

In this month’s safety topic, we will focus on survival and emergency situations within the world of general aviation. The FAA runs a General Aviation Joint Safety Committee, which is a group that analyzes GA accidents and incidents. They have found that passengers and pilots often are not prepared for off-airport survival. Imagine you are cruising along, enjoying your flight and taking pictures of the scenery. This can very quickly turn into a survival situation if something goes wrong. In general aviation, we often take off relying solely on the ELT, thinking that will be enough. However, keep in mind these ELT’s can be unreliable, give false information, or be difficult to use after a crash. A personal locator transponder is portable and may be more reliable. Additionally, we recommend reading the FAA regulations regarding flight over water for a prolonged period, as these scenarios can present unique challenges. Coping with emergencies like this requires quick action and it’s best to have a plan in place before your flight. Planning your flight on the ground before you takeoff is the best way to ensure you are prepared. 

Learning points: 

1. Many pilots take off over water without the required equipment to survive a water landing. Be sure to research the FAA requirements for where you are flying. 

1. Filing a VFR flight plan is always a great way to ensure someone will know if you don’t arrive at your destination airport. 

1. Notify a trusted person before your flight over water or sparsely populated areas. 

1. Personal Locator Beacons are great to have. This is a reliable device which can also be used during hikes, hunting, or fishing.

1. Keep in mind your seatbelt could lock under pressure if you have flipped on impact. Having a seat belt cutter on hand can help release you. 

1. Wearing the correct clothing is essential. Some bush pilots will even carry equipment on their outfit to ensure they can survive for the first few hours.

1. Flying near highways is ideal while traversing sparsely populated areas. That way if a force landing occurs, you are more likely to be located.

1. Peanut butter, beef sticks, and water can help sustain you while waiting for rescue and are easy to pack. 

1.  A human can live without air for 3 minutes, without water for 3 days, and without food for 30 days. 

1.  The first 5 minutes after an emergency landing should look like… 

1. Exit and count passengers. 

1. Check for bleeding, breathing, and injuries. 

1. Activate the aircraft ELT. It may already be activated. 

1. Activate the personal locator beacon. 

1. Call 911. This might work! 

1. Within the first 5 hours you should set up shelter, treat any ongoing injuries, check your supplies, build a fire, and continue attempting to make phone calls.

1. If there are others with you, assign everybody a job. This will help improve morale as everyone will be working as a team. 

1.  Staying with the aircraft is a hard decision. If you are in remote wilderness, you might need to find rescue. However, rescue is more likely to see your airplane than they are to see you. They will also be looking for your aircraft. 

Check out the Safety Management System regarding general aviation safety from AOPA’s Air Safety Institute. https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/Scalable-Safety-Framework. The FAA is preparing to put a heightened focus on general aviation SMS this year. Currently, airline operations tend to be the focus of SMS.   

Our safety community involves pilots (yes, even student pilots), instructors, maintenance technicians, the FAA, and the Air Safety Institute from AOPA.  

The entire Flying Club team at AOPA are FAAST team members and we are happy to host a safety webinar for your club. The Wings credits that your members will get can be a huge motivator to get members to attend. Also, some insurance companies will lower rates if they are aware that your club is hosting FAAST meetings.   

Other Safety Resources:  

Here is a reminder of just some of the safety resources available to all pilots:  

FAASTeam:  

faasafety.gov  

The FAASTeam website is the portal to a vast array of courses, videos, links, and much more.  Remember that WINGS not only encompasses knowledge activities but also flight activities.  Use the search options to narrow down to say, flight activities for a basic phase of WINGS, and you’ll be able to find a syllabus and often a worksheet for various flight activities.  Use WINGS to keep you proficient and think of the flight activities as a progressive flight review—earnt over 12-months, rather than at the end of 24-months.  

Wait…you don’t do WINGS?  

That’s a big shame—you are missing out on a free pilot proficiency program that will help you enjoy your flying even more, allow you to earn a flight review every 12 months just by flying, and may provide insurance discounts.  

The FAASTeam WINGS pilot proficiency program is the best way for general aviation pilots to ensure they are competent, confident, and safe in their flight operations.   Oh, and being perpetually proficient will save you money in the long run.  

If you are interested in using the FAASTeam WINGS program for your personal flying or with your flying club, create an account on the FAASTeam website, http://www.faasafety.gov, and explore the collection of courses and flight activities.  Also, feel free to contact me (Cade Halle, WINGS Representative), and I’d be pleased to walk you through the program.  More on “WINGS for Clubs” can be found here in Flying Clubs Radio Episode 8 and the May 2020 Question of the Month.  

Other FAA Resources:  

Don’t forget to regularly revisit these FAA safety gems, as new material is frequently added:  

Pilot Minute  

57 Seconds to Safer Flying  

FAA Safety Briefing Magazine  

From the Flight Deck  

AOPA Air Safety Institute:  

https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute  

AOPA’s Air Safety Institute (ASI), which by the way is funded by the AOPA Foundation just like the Flying Clubs Initiative, is packed with exceptional content, including exceptional videos, podcasts, accident analysis, online courses, recorded webinars and more.  Completing ASI activities may also earn WINGS credits.  Of particular interest to flying club safety officers is the updated Safety to Go section.  There, you can download a selection of topics, each coming with PowerPoint slides and speaker’s notes!