The Most Important Sentence in the Flight Manual

What do you think the most important sentence is in the flight manual?

A Bold face procedure? This is “considered critical.” It is not a bold face procedure.

A warning? This is defined as “operating procedures, techniques, etc., which could result in personal injury or loss of life if not carefully followed.” It is not a warning.

The most important sentences are hidden in the introduction to chapter three (page 561 of 957 in our current flight manual):

“The most important single consideration is helicopter control. All procedures are subordinate to this requirement.”

In my experience, as Coast Guard pilots advance from apprentice to journeyman, ironically, the more prone we are to act hastily during circumstances that result in an aircraft upset in low visibility situations, instead of making all actions subordinate to helicopter control. As an instructor, I regularly tried to load up our second-year aviators with a simulated situation that required them to maintain helicopter control while dealing with a myriad of other important tasks. In our simulator, this is easy to accomplish. Ceilings and visibility are decreased and when the “helicopter” is in a position where navigation is complex, you give the crew an aircraft malfunction. This training scenario is more difficult to replicate in the helicopter because a vision limiting device (hood) is required and you are constrained by how much you can degrade the aircraft. Regardless, the objective of the drill is to reinforce the necessity for helicopter control, above all else, followed closely by navigation away from terrain and obstacles.

In general, our Coast Guard rotary wing community does an excellent job operating in low visibility and low ceilings when our equipment is functioning correctly and there are no surprises. Sometimes, we can get too comfortable. Over the years, I have had gentle nudges not to become complacent. These came from RADAR failures, AFCS malfunctions, stabilator auto mode failures, and other manageable malfunctions in low visibility, close to the water, at night. My peers have had more startling experiences (e.g., an extreme high side at night, near the water, in the fog). To combat this complacency, we need reminders of how demanding nighttime, low visibility situations can be when equipment malfunctions or something else startles the crew.

Task prioritization and crew workflow management are marks of a mature airman. AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE.

“The methods are many, the principles are few.” – Spiral up.